Couple who aborted daughter at 22 weeks due to birth defect say they did it 'entirely for her'
A couple from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, has revealed that they had to make the heartwrenching decision of aborting their first child after doctors told them that the infant had a severe birth defect that could lead to a lifetime of suffering for the child.
The couple, 32-year-old Jade Dodson and 31-year-old Mark Dodson, were elated when they first received the news that they were to welcome their first child after two-and-a-half years of trying. The couple had reportedly gone through multiple rounds of fertility treatment.
However, their dreams came crashing down after a routine scan revealed that their baby, Amalie May, had spina bifida, which is a severe birth defect. The heartbreaking discovery was made during a 20-week-scan. The condition is a neural tube defect that affects nearly 1 in 1,000 babies and the couple's daughter had the most severe form of the disease known as Myelomeningocele.
