Aneli* was a 35-year-old mother of seven children when she arrived at my clinic seeking an abortion. Her last three pregnancies had been complicated by severe preeclampsia, a very dangerous and recurrent condition, that was occurring earlier and more severely with each of her pregnancies. Her most recent pregnancy had ended in a stillbirth just three months earlier.

She had multiple other medical conditions that would make carrying another pregnancy very dangerous for herself and for the child. Unfortunately, her weight made her ineligible for a procedure at our outpatient abortion clinic, and her local hospital was a Catholic institution and therefore unable to provide an abortion. She was unable to travel elsewhere.

She currently remains pregnant, fearing the worst for her unborn child, her own health, and her ability to care for her seven other children if anything should happen to her.