By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
More than 1500 people attended the funeral of a Brazilian toddler who survived nearly two years with a condition that should have taken her life within hours of birth.
Marcela de Jesus Ferreira was born on Nov. 20, 2006 with a condition known as anencephaly, a birth defect in which a baby is born with either a partial or non-existent brain. Babies born with this condition usually survive for only hours after birth.
Marcela’s condition was diagnosed when her mother, Casilda Galante Ferreira, 36, was four months pregnant. Ferreira’s refusal to abort the baby came at the same time as the country was gripped in a heated debate over the legalization of abortion in Brazil for unborn babies diagnosed with this condition. While abortion supporters insisted the condition causes only pain and suffering to babies, Ferreira refused to take a life given to her by God.
According to the Catholic News Agency (CNA), Ferreira told journalists, “Everybody suffers, but she doesn’t belong to me, she belongs to God and I am taking care of her here. Every second of her life is precious,” she said. “I consider her life to be a miracle so great that I am going to wait until God decides when to take her.”
That moment came on August 1.
According to Brazilian media, Marcela died of cardiac arrest from complications due to pneumonia. Hundreds attended her funeral, and her parents decided to carry her casket to its final resting place in. Prayers and songs of joy accompanied the procession, as friends and family members took turns respectfully carrying her casket to the cemetery in her hometown of Patrocinio Paulista.
During Marcela’s short life, Ferreira said she tried to be the best mother she could. “God came to get her. It was her time. I am happy because she didn’t suffer much and she lived surrounded by love.”
The child who may never have had a name if pro-abortion forces in that country had their way will now be remembered forever as the town intends to name a street in her honor.
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