In a moving tribute to the sanctity of life, a popular TV anchor announced that even though her unborn daughter has been diagnosed with a fatal condition, she will carry the child for as long as God wills.
Aleteia is reporting on the story of Brooke Martin, the anchor of a program on the Wish TV channel in Indiana. She and her husband, who are the parents of three-year-old Max, received devastating news about their unborn daughter – she is suffering from anencephaly, a condition in which the brain does not develop. For their little girl, the diagnosis means almost certain death, either in the womb or shortly after birth.
In spite of how difficult it will be, the Martins have decided to carry their daughter to term, or for as long as God wills.
“We have found out that she is a girl, but she has zero chance of survival,” Brooke said in a video on Wish TV’s Facebook page, adding that “we have decided to carry the pregnancy to term or as long as she survives.”
“We are heartbroken, you guys,” she said. “We are so sad, but on the other hand, we are so confident that God has a plan for Emma (the baby); that he’s going to redeem her story and that no matter how long she is on this Earth, she has a purpose.”
They decided to name her Emma Noelle.
“Together, it sounds like Emmanuel, which means ‘God with us,'” Martin said. “That was the word that came to my mind almost immediately after the diagnosis.”
Brooke went on to tell her audience that they consider their baby to be a gift who has an immortal soul that they will one day embrace in eternity.
“Looking more closely, this was the most important message: we are born to live forever,” writes Paola Belletti for Aleteia. “We can get sick early on, or at the age of 102, but everyone will pass through the narrow passage of death.”
We can suffer, cry, and feel sad with Brooke, but we need not despair because our God is with us and He has risen just as we will all do one day.
“The key element of this story is that Emma Noel will have her life in full, up to where God — and not the statistics — has established that it should end,” Belletti writes.
“This is why we can’t help but suffer along with this couple at the thought that cases of anencephaly are used to promote abortion. Why should they be in such a rush to end these fragile and harmless lives?”
Instead of quietly “disposing” of their child’s life, this courageous couple has chosen to lift high their gift from God and by doing so, they raise the public’s awareness of the dignity of every life, regardless of its condition.
“We are going to ride out this journey with our little girl for as long as we can,” Brooke said.
May our prayers accompany this courageous couple on this bittersweet journey!
