K Monica Kelly had to travel to Florida for an abortion after her fetus was diagnosed with trisomy 13 – now she’s part of a group suing her state

K Monica Kelly had to travel to Florida for an abortion after her fetus was diagnosed with trisomy 13 – now she’s part of a group suing her state

When K Monica Kelly saw that women in Texas had filed a lawsuit challenging the contours of their state’s abortion ban, she posted on Instagram to cheer them on.

“I shared how terrible I thought it was, that they weren’t able to get the proper healthcare they needed in their state,” Kelly said. “It never crossed my mind that that was actually going to happen to me soon.”

Kelly and her husband spent a year trying to have a second baby. So when they discovered in February 2023 that Kelly was pregnant, the couple was ecstatic. They taught their son, who was then two years old, to describe their family as: “Mama, dada, me, baby, all four!” After an ultrasound looked promising, and they drove more than 10 hours from their home in northern Tennessee to announce the news to their family in Florida.

Only days later, after they’d returned home, in late March, the pair drove back to Florida. This time, though, the drive was “surreal and devastating”, Kelly said. A series of catastrophic fetal diagnoses had led Kelly to decide to get an abortion – a procedure she could not legally get in Tennessee.

  • SeaJ@lemm.ee
    69·
    10 months ago

    Trisomy 13 babies only have a 5-10% chance of making it past their first birthday.

    • pezhore@lemmy.ml
      84·
      10 months ago

      As god intended! /s

      By all means, let’s force people through the trauma of knowing their kid will only live at most 16-18 months and will probably bankrupt the family with medical bills.

      The cruelty here is off the charts (as the gop intended).

      • FarFarAway@startrek.websiteEnglish
        41·
        10 months ago

        It’s such a double standard for the large majority of these people. It’s God’s will that a baby should be born to suffer and die, but it’s not God’s will that they die of a heart attack, diabetes, or a simple infection.

        If they really believed in God’s will, they wouldn’t be seeking medical care at all, for they were destined to suffer and die as well.

        It’s despicable, what they are imposing on these families. If you believe in miracles, put yourself in the hands of your God and wait for one yourself, asshats.