Thankfully not many expecting mothers in this country have to make that gut-wrenching choice. Most of us are spared this scenario and it only plagues our worst nightmares, but there has been at least one mother in Australia this year who has faced this dilemma with incredible bravery and faith.
Renee Young from Western Sydney already with a brood of healthy children, is someone who had to make that painful decision. Knowing full well the risks, not just in terms of the baby not making it but also to her own health, she decided to follow her conscience.
Hate speech in the 'Comment' sections
Renee recently gave birth to two surprisingly healthy twins, which just happen to share a body. They have a condition known as diprosopus (as they have two faces) and although they share a body and a head, they seem to be breathing and eating normally for now.
The parents Renee and Simon Howie have made it clear that they respect that the baby has two brains and therefore is two separate beings with a soul each. Faith and Hope are their names and they are a living miracle.
But what is the general response to such a miracle?
"This is absolutely disgusting. These "parents" should be ashamed of themselves!"
"That's yuck. They already HAVE seven kids! Someone needs to get PERMANENT birth control!"
"It's not two babies, it's one, with deformities. If I'd been born like that, no way would I want to live, I would've wanted my mother to abort me."
"It's not a baby, it's ugly, bizarre, probably product of incest. I would kill this creep."
"It hurts my eyes to even look at those disgusting things! They need to burn it and send it to hell where it belongs!"
"Miracle babies? Is that some kind of sick joke? This poor baby should be euthanized to prevent it from suffering."
"Very selfish parents......sick minded people is what they are, they knew something was very wrong with the baby and still they choose to make this child suffer."
"Why are the parents allowed to breed?"
But killing a baby for fun is A-OK!
Yes, there are many in this country that believe it's the humane thing to abort babies in the womb. That apparently has become the noble thing to do. But not only noble, it's also quite a fun pastime if you're sexually promiscuous and want attention.
In the past few weeks there has been a YouTube sensation of the girl (someone way too immature to be called a woman) who decided to film her own abortion. Emily Letts put up Emily's Abortion Video which now has almost 1.8 million views and over 4,200 'likes'. The point of it was apparently to show everyone how easy an abortion is and that you don't need to feel guilty. Feeling guilty is soooo passe.
So while Emily is praised for her courage to willingly murder a defenceless infant, Renee is criticised for having the integrity to do the right thing and commit to the child in her womb.
Hypocrisy and inconsistency is rife
I've heard the verse quoted frequently in these days: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil" (Isaiah 5 verse 20) and it seems applicable here. I do feel sorry for anyone that has had to have an abortion and later regretted it. Life isn't black and white and Renee Young would have been well within her rights to take the doctor's advice and abort – but she didn't. Even the most pro-life of us would have understood if she gave in to the temptation – but she didn't.
Yet taking a stand for our morals in this world is considered 'selfish' and 'cruel'. I don't know what I would have done if I was in the same shoes, but I'd like to think I would have carried the baby to the end, not caring about the naysayers.
We live amongst the greatest hypocrisy. Society acts as if human life means so little that we can abort (i.e. murder) a healthy baby on a mere whim and yet when a woman decides the opposite, the tune changes and people decide human life does matter after all and someone like Renee will be painted as a monster.
When there is no moral foundation this is what happens. A society which creates its own morals will always be guilty of the two faces of hypocrisy and inconsistency – and that's a much more "disgusting thing" than the beautiful, miraculous babies Hope and Faith.
Bridget Brenton has been researching apologetics, philosophy and the paranormal for years. You can check her apologetic effort out at 101arguments.com
Bridget Brenton's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/bridget-brenton.html