In a gut-wrenching reality, a couple in Florida are waiting to bid farewell to their unborn child in a few weeks after the baby is delivered in the wake of the elimination of abortion rights in the country by the US Supreme Court last year. The heartbreaking situation has been created due to the new Florida law which bans abortion after a period of 15 weeks except under special circumstances. Deborah Dorbert has now joined the league of several women who are facing difficulty in getting the necessary abortion procedures after the Supreme Court overturned the rights which were earlier granted by the landmark 1973 Roe vs Wade decision.
According to a report published by The Washington Post, Dorbert and her husband Lee Dorbert, who are expecting their second child, were informed by the doctors that the baby is suffering from fatal fetal abnormality, which is also known as Potter syndrome.
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However, the couple said that an abortion cannot be performed by the doctors because of their interpretation of a Florida law which was brought into effect after Roe vs Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court.
Potter syndrome is a rare health condition that occurs during the development of the fetus in the uterus. In this case, the fetus has abnormal kidney growth and function, which affects the amount of amniotic fluid which is present around it during pregnancy.
Doctors consider it as a “doubly lethal diagnosis” because babies with malfunctioning kidneys fail to remove deadly toxins from their bodies, which in turn can result in renal failure. Also, the lack of amniotic fluid in a womb results in the birth of a baby without the ability to breathe.
According to the Reducing Fetal and Infant Mortality law in Florida, which the authorities implemented last July, people are prohibited from undergoing abortion after 15 weeks of gestation. As per the new law, few cases will be dealt with an exception and would permit a later abortion “if two physicians certify in writing that the fetus has a fatal fetal abnormality and has not reached viability”.
When the unborn baby of the couple was diagnosed with the syndrome in November, Dorberts was told by a maternal-fetal medicine specialist that parents going through this situation often choose to terminate the pregnancy through preterm labour or surgery.
The doctor had said that he would discuss the case with the health system administrators and consult them regarding the new law, reported the Washington Post.
Eventually, the couple decided to terminate the pregnancy as early as possible because babies born with such syndrome often die before their birth or die because of suffocation within hours or minutes after their delivery.
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Deborah Dorbert said the specialist had informed her that the termination of pregnancy might be possible but not before 28 and 32 weeks. However, after consultation with the health system administrators, the specialist said that the couple will have to wait till the 37th week of gestation or almost a full term to terminate the pregnancy.
Speaking about the specialist's suggestion to the couple about travelling to other states where they have fewer restrictions on abortion, Dorberts said that they can't bear such travel costs and have left their state very few times.
(With inputs from agencies)
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