In a few weeks, a couple in Florida will have a baby. Yet she is preparing to define the details of his death: the baby will be born, but is destined not to survive more than twenty minutes – half an hour, due to a serious malformation. The case, reported by the Washington Post, has gained national prominence because it is a paradigm of the effects of the ban on abortion in the United States: the woman was forced to continue the pregnancy despite her certainty that her child will die.
The doctors refused to have her aborted, in order not to incur the penalties provided for by the new restrictions set by the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis. In Florida, the new law prohibits abortion after the fifteenth week, except in exceptional cases. Deborah Dorbert was unable to interrupt her pregnancy, for therapeutic reasons, because the federal right to abortion, in force since 1973, was suppressed by the decision of the Supreme Court, taken on June 24 last year.
Although the law provides for some exceptions, none of the doctors consulted by the couple wanted to perform an abortion, for fear of incurring penalties. Deborah and her husband have also been unable to travel to another state with less restrictions due to excessive costs. “I’m really angry that politicians decide what’s best for my health. We would have done anything to have this baby,” the young mom told the Washington Post.
Deborah is spending the final days before her baby’s birth planning the details of his death. She and her husband will wrap the newborn in a warm blanket, show their love, and cry. They have already decided to have his little body cremated and are already looking for a way to commemorate him ”. No urn though: perhaps an ash-infused glass figurine, or an ornament with a fingerprint. A story that truly leaves you speechless.
