Gabriela learned at an early age that her parents chose Life for her despite a consensus of medical opinion that she would be disabled. Gabriela told Texas Right to Life in an interview, “When my mother was three months pregnant, my parents received news through medical testing that she was carrying a child diagnosed with Down Syndrome.” Medical professionals argued that Gabriela’s parents should choose abortion because of the cost of raising a child with Down syndrome, the emotional stress on the family, and the fact that having a child with disabilities is “a general inconvenience.”
In an act of great faith, Gabriela’s parents went against the aggressive pressure to end their daughter’s life. Gabriela says, “My parents decided to accept me, no matter the outcome, and I would remain in my mother’s womb.” The family put their trust in God and views Gabriela’s life as a miracle. When Gabriela was born, specialists examined her and found no evidence of any disabilities. Today, Gabriela is perfectly healthy.
The tremendous example of her parent’s trust has inspired Gabriela’s faith and her Pro-Life beliefs. She sums up her unshakable Pro-Life stance by saying, “God’s word says that life is precious because we are made in the image of God, and this is my reason for being Pro-Life.”
Her story has also given her a special appreciation for people with disabilities, knowing that her life could have ended simply because of the “inconvenience” of disabilities. To parents facing a diagnosis of disability for their preborn child, Gabriela says:
My parents were advised that abortion would be the best option to avoid having a disabled child. I am living proof that a doctor’s prognosis is not absolute, and it is possible for God to work a miracle like He did for my parents. When children are born with a disability, they are still precious in His sight because they are made in His image. They are wholly worthy of your love and care, like any baby. I would never encourage the ending of a child’s life at any age. It is a more severe injustice since disabled children are even more vulnerable.
Like Gabriela, many Pro-Life advocates recognize the severe injustice of taking the lives of the most vulnerable. Preborn babies who may have a disability are threatened by subjective “quality of life” ethics that say their lives are too “inconvenient.” In Texas this legislative session, the Disabled Preborn Justice Act would ensure that all children are protected from the violence of late abortions. Under current law, most babies are protected from abortion after five months gestation, the stage of development at which they undeniably feel pain. However, babies who may have a disability can be killed in an abortion through all nine months of development in the womb. Every child has the Right to Life, and we have a responsibility to protect the most vulnerable.
Gabriela views the Disabled Preborn Justice Act as “an obvious correction of discrimination.” She added, “Because the doctor’s prognosis was not ultimately the outcome in my life, I would love for God to be able to work miracles in other people’s lives as well.”
Contact your legislators to urge their support of the Disabled Preborn Justice Act. Texas must protect babies like Gabriela and recognize the Right to Life of every child.