Gideon is a one-year-old boy in Oregon beating the odds. Live Action News reported on the amazing story of his life thus far. Gideon’s mother, Heather Hobbs, knew something was wrong with Gideon mid-way through her pregnancy. Her fears were confirmed when ultrasounds revealed a black hole in Gideon’s stomach. Hobbs was sent for more sophisticated ultrasounds at Oregon Health and Science University.
For five days, doctors there struggled to determine what could be wrong with Gideon. They finally settled on the diagnosis of an extremely rare condition called meconium pseudocyst. According to Live Action, “the baby’s intestines had burst inside of his body and a shell had formed around that area. It was filling with stool and becoming infected.” The condition posed grave risk to both Gideon and his mother. The first option Hobbs was presented with was abortion.
Hobbs told Live Action, “They gave a less than one percent chance that he would live if that happened. They strongly suggested aborting. I told them I couldn’t do it. I told them I was willing to take on the risk if they would be willing to just keep him alive.” Doctors agreed, but Hobbs was required to sign forms stating that she was going against medical advice by not aborting her son.
The family began the anxious waiting period before Gideon’s birth. To everyone’s surprise, Hobbs went into preterm labor at just 28 weeks. After birth Gideon underwent major surgery, and he spent months in the hospital. Even though he is now 15-months-old, Gideon still does not have an official diagnosis for his ongoing medical challenges. The family will travel to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for a month of testing in the hopes that Gideon will finally have a diagnosis and more effective treatment.
Tragically, Hobbs was pressured to abort her two older children. When doctors urged her to abort Gideon, she was certain that she would choose Life as she had with her other children. Hobbs told Live Action that she is concerned about how many other mothers face pressure to abort their children. She hopes Gideon’s story offers hope to mothers in similar circumstances and convinces them to choose Life.
Babies like Gideon are the reason for the Disabled Preborn Justice Act currently before the Texas Legislature. This legislation would protect disabled preborn babies from abortion. Babies who are fighting against the odds to overcome medical challenges would be protected from deadly discrimination and families facing a terminal diagnosis would be offered life-affirming options like perinatal hospice care. Protect babies like Gideon. Contact your legislators to urge them to support the Disabled Preborn Justice Act.