Kristan Hawkins is a Pro-Life activist in every sense of the word. As the president of Students for Life of America, Kristan works to ensure that every college campus across the United States maintains a Pro-Life group on campus. She works with Pro-Life Millennials to give a voice to the Pro-Life generation. And she is a mother.
Last week, Kristan gave birth to her fourth child and first daughter. She contributed a piece to The Blaze sharing her concern that her daughter may have inherited Cystic Fibrosis like her first child, Gunner. Gunner, who is seven years old, suffers with the condition every day. Kristan’s children each have a 25% chance of inheriting the disease.
Cystic Fibrosis is a debilitating and fatal condition that requires an intense daily regimen to manage. Sufferers endure many pills, breathing treatments, nutritional demands, doctor visits, and physiotherapy. The daily medical grind for a CF patient can cause strife and frustration within a family, especially during childhood. Furthermore, CF patients have a much shorter life expectancy than typical individuals, adding parent’s burden the probability that they will outlive their own children.
Sadly, when diagnosed prenatally, these negative factors associated with CF usually induce so much dread in parents that they choose abortion over Life for their children. Kristan relays that 87% of the children diagnosed with her son’s condition in utero are never born because their parents end their lives. Kristan recalls, when Gunner was a toddler, being told by a genetic counselor that she and her husband could “avoid” having more children with CF by “screening embryos” for the disease. In fact, screening the embryos does nothing to prevent babies from CF from being born; aborting them after screenings reveal they have CF does.
Kristan, pregnant with her second son at the time, was appalled by the insinuation. She recalls: “To this day, I’m amazed that I was able to stop myself from the insults I wanted to hurl at her. I simply couldn’t believe her brazen audacity to suggest that my beautiful son, who was sitting on my lap smiling, was a mistake that could be avoided.” The sad truth is that children with CF are being aborted, in large part, because the medical community is suggesting to parents that death is better than Life in their case.
No parents should be told that their child is unworthy of Life. This attitude not only robs the child of the most fundamental right, but also robs parents of the beautiful gift of raising him or her. Kristan shares: “While I can’t promise any parents facing a positive diagnosis that life will be easy, I can promise you that you will never regret having your children. To those parents facing a difficult prenatal diagnosis or a debilitating diagnosis after birth, your child’s life is not only a miracle, unique, and priceless, but through his or her life I promise that you will find great joy and blessing.” She continued: “Despite the frequent doctor’s visits, challenging toddler temper tantrums, and high medical bills, Gunner and his brothers, and nearly-here sister, are my most proud accomplishments.”
Do you have a child with Cystic Fibrosis, or know one? What positive influence has he or she had on your Life? Please share in the comments.
