Parents of deceased newborn: ‘Choose life, you won’t regret it’

Parents in Australia whose son died just weeks after birth have encouraged other parents to choose life.

Stephanie and Bradley Vergano refused to abort Remy after a 24-week scan revealed he was extremely small due to early onset growth restriction. Doctors said he was likely to have severe disabilities if he survived, and advised them to have another child instead.

But even though Remy only lived for 53 days after birth, the parents said they “loved him every moment of his life”.

‘Precious’

Stephanie and Bradley said that although parents in similar circumstances are told abortion is the least painful option, “in reality, there is no way to way to remove the suffering of losing a child.

“What there is in choosing life is something more precious. When you choose to embrace the suffering, you might get the chance to witness something truly magical.

“A short and noble life. A life that ended after a victorious struggle. A life that was given a chance. A life that had a name. A life that had a memory.

“From here, we heal.”

‘Infinitely valuable’

The parents shared that, through the challenges of caring for Remy, they learned “you don’t have to do anything to be loved.

“You might need support with feeding, breathing, and pretty much any kind of support you can think of – but you are still human and you are still loved. We are not defined by our abilities. We are not defined by how many people love us. We are infinitely valuable”.

They concluded: “Choose life. You won’t regret it.”

Choose life

Watch The Christian Institute’s Choose Life series – people’s personal stories of how they were deeply affected by abortion.

Bonnie and Phil’s daughter Grace was diagnosed with anencephaly, but they saw the pregnancy through, and were glad they could spend 15 precious minutes with their baby daughter.

Phil described it as “15 minutes of pure love”, saying: “There’s a purpose for every life, no matter how short”.

In Great Britain, abortion is currently permitted for most reasons up to 24 weeks, but up to birth if the unborn child is deemed to have a disability.