While some have recommended to us that we end Stephanie’s life, we of course would not entertain such an idea. We would not consider aborting our daughter any more than we would consider killing our four-year-old son if he were diagnosed with a debilitating disease.
Our first reaction to those who have suggested this is to respond: “We are going to give her a try for three or four months and see how it goes; if she is too much trouble we’ll quietly put her down then.” While this suggestion I assume (and hope) would be appallingly dismissed, the only difference is a few months and some personal familiarity. Frankly, we already feel quite familiar with Stephanie.
Carlynn and I actually picked out Stephanie’s name twenty years ago when we were musing about our future children. We have prayed for the arrival of our children during years of infertility. After fifteen years of marriage we were still praying that God would give us a daughter. And after almost three years of trying to conceive, Stephanie was a reality.
While we would love for Stephanie to not be facing these life-threatening challenges, we wholeheartedly accept her as she is. We cannot fathom taking her life because she doesn’t meet our physical expectations.
God created this life and it will be up to him when he chooses to take it. If Carlynn’s womb is the only home she ever knows, we are committed to making it as safe as possible and free from the intrusion of the abortionist’s tools.
If we do not embrace Stephanie as a sacred life from God that is worthy of protection from the moment of conception, then we are forced to necessarily define her as worthy at some other subjective juncture based on her abilities, performance, or worse yet, (as our society so often does) based on how much she might inconvenience us. Such logic we resolutely believe to be immoral and contrary to all that is right, good and biblical.
— Mike & Carlynn Fabarez