Happy Father’s Day
in Must Be Nice on June 14, 2017
I realize that I have been MIA for quite sometime. My apologies. The last few months have been rather hectic around my house. The end of the school year brings something akin to controlled chaos in daily waves of assault on our family, add a couple of week-long out of town trips, and a two-week-cross-country-family-vacation and voila…y’all are now up to speed!
I am just now coming up for air…or so I thought.
Last night, as I was trolling Facebook, an article caught my eye. It was so completely bizarre that I had to Google it because I thought for sure it was a hoax. It was not. Brace yourself, I am a bit riled up today.
Have you heard about the Iowa couple suing the OB/GYN in a WRONGFUL BIRTH lawsuit? You read that correctly. I said, wrongful birth. The couple in question has taken their case all the way to the Iowa Supreme Court, claiming the woman’s doctor failed to inform her that the baby she was carrying had a chance of developing cerebral palsy, based off of an ultrasound. Had they been “properly” informed of their baby’s possible abnormalities, they could have would have chosen to abort, rather than deliver a disabled child. Unfortunately, the child did develop cerebral palsy. The couple are now suing for loss of income and mental anguish.
My heart hurts for this child.
Many of you who read this blog, and still others who know me personally, know that I have a deep, deep love of family and am extremely protective of not only my children, but of all children. This story sickens me. It is ludicrous.
It is so crazy, that it got me thinking….you know, my OB/GYN did not tell me from my own ultrasounds (and I had SEVERAL) that the “Terrible Twos” were going to last FOUR YEARS with my daughter OR that she was going to develop Sensory Integration Disorder, have a learning disability, require physical AND occupational therapy, need ear tubes, and wear glasses. Perhaps I should consider suing him for a Wrongful Birth lawsuit in which I can claim loss of income and mental anguish…oh wait, I’m overlooking the key difference…
I am not a monster, nor am I an idiot, and I love my child with every fiber of my being.
Was my doctor to blame for not catching and informing me that Emma was going to have some random disorder? No. He was not. Should I abort my child now, knowing all of her abnormalities and defects—she is fourteen years old—no, of course not, that is insane. But, where is the line?
That is essentially what the people in Iowa are saying. Their son is now five years old. They wished they had killed him when it was legal, so they wouldn’t have to deal with him now that it’s a challenge. News Flash: Parenting is not for sissies or the faint of heart. Man up. Your kid needs you.
How can a parent, a MOTHER, who carries a child in her body, feel that child move and grow, then choose to KILL that child simply because he isn’t going to be society’s version of perfect? Are they so wrapped up in first place trophies at Little League? Good news there, nobody keeps score anymore, so everyone gets a trophy.
Besides, are you perfect?
I think not. I know I’m not. Perfection is an awfully heavy burden to place upon the shoulders of a newborn.
Wrongful Birth Lawsuit.
It makes my stomach hurt.
There are babies in dumpsters everyday. Millions of couples, spending thousands, upon thousands of dollars trying to have a baby in any condition. I personally, know two families that were blessed to have children with cerebral palsy; one lived to be thirty-five and the other is eighteen. Neither family ever looked at their sons and thought, “Gosh, my life would be SO much better if you were dead.” As a parent, you are charged with the responsibility to protect your child, to defend him, to love him. How can you look into his eyes and wish he had never been born?
How would you feel if someone who was supposed to love you—your mother, your father, your grandmother—looked at you and said, “My life would be so much better if you just died.”
How can they do this to their son? I don’t understand it at all. They’ve put a dollar amount on their child. I don’t like kids being used as pawns…that’s what these people are doing. Children shouldn’t be the center of court cases, but they are, every single day. They should never, ever be at the center of a WRONGFUL BIRTH case.
The people in Iowa don’t deserve this child. Father’s Day is Sunday. The man wrapped in litigation over this poor child is no father. Fathers protect their children. They don’t haggle in court over how much money they can get for them. Fathers don’t wish their children dead.
This Sunday, hold on to your kids, hug them, squeeze them, go out of your way to spend time with them. Remember the families who are broken and be thankful for yours.
Here’s hoping your day is good.
-Dallas