Meghan Elise Bell has recounted how doctors tried to pressure her to abort her baby girl, who was suspected of having spina bifida. She refused, choosing life for her daughter, and not giving in to the prejudices of society and some doctors.

“There was pressure on us from the beginning, even before the diagnosis was confirmed, to have an abortion”, Meghan recalls. “Our baby was already a member of our growing family. Yet, professionals presented abortion to us like it was the usual route.”

Spina bifida is a condition where an unborn child’s spine and spinal cord do not develop properly in the womb, which can cause physical and intellectual disabilities after birth.

Meghan was not perturbed by Evelyn’s potential spina bifida, however.

“To me, disability was not a frightening unknown”, says Meghan. And “the idea” of aborting Evelyn went against all her instincts. 

Meghan believes that the pressure to abort her daughter was part of a broader prejudice against the disabled, who are “undervalued” by society.

“What kind of society have we become”? she asks. “I think babies with Evelyn’s condition deserve to be treated equally, before and after birth.”

But Meghan has not lost hope. “I want to tell you that having a child with a disability is not the alien lifestyle you might be imagining…It’s so normal and full of times that make you cry and smile, just like all journeys of parenthood.”

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “Society’s treatment of the disabled is fundamentally flawed and is quite frankly a disgrace. We must work hard to combat this dangerous prejudice and save more babies from the bias of some doctors, whose first instinct is to kill, not treat, babies.

“Meghan is right in more ways than one. We must treat everyone equally, and we must not lose hope in our fight for equal rights, including the fundamental right to life, including that of babies such as beautiful Evelyn.”

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Mother resisted pressure from doctors to abort her son