Remembering Tommy

On Friday August 25, 2006 I chose to “say goodbye early” to my very much wanted baby boy at 14 weeks pregnancy after having received a Trisomy 18 diagnosis (Edwards Syndrome).  When I think back to the sequence of events that lead to that tragic “choice,” I cannot help but wonder where were the paths to hope that would have enabled me to choose life?  I bear my own responsibility in authorizing the death of my child, but my choice was not made in isolation.  The medical profession and the church were also active participants towards his demise.  At this point in my life, I can only wish that as a society we could learn to support one another rather than to retract from the responsibility of bad news and pain.