Arizona Mom Forced to Carry Non-Viable Pregnancy to Term Due to Abortion Law...

[Nevilledog]

https://people.com/health/arizona-mom-forced-to-carry-non-viable-baby-to-term/

An Arizona mom is speaking out after being forced to carry her non-viable fetus to term.

Chloe, who does not want to use her last name, was overjoyed when she first found out she was pregnant in January 2022, becoming even more excited when she learned it was a girl, according to ABC News. Mom to an almost 6-month-old, Chloe had dreams of her two girls becoming close friends.

But at 23 weeks, she learned that her baby had holoprosencephaly, a birth defect that occurs when the brain does not divide into two halves, the left and right hemispheres, according to the Cleveland Clinic. While there are several types of the condition, Chloe's baby's was the most severe, known as alobar holoprosencephaly, which often results in the baby being stillborn or dying shortly after birth.

Upon realizing her daughter would not live very long, the 22-year-old was devastated. According to the outlet she said she "broke down" and said, "I have never felt that way in my entire life."

In Arizona, her options were limited — and she had to decide what to do within days. She could try to get an abortion by 24 weeks as was permitted at the time, go out of state to a clinic, or to continue with the pregnancy.

*snip*