US House Gives Standing Ovation to "Miracle Baby" Doctors Said Would Die

Ben Johnson : Jul 25, 2014
LifeSiteNews.com

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-WA, brought her infant daughter, Abigail Rose, to the House floor along with the doctor who refused to accept the prevailing diagnosis of her colleagues.

(Washington, DC)—Its record as an institution may be spotty, but the House of Representatives honored vulnerable life yesterday, giving a standing ovation to a one-year-old whom doctors had said was certain to die in the womb or shortly after birth. (Photo via C-SPAN)

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-WA, brought her infant daughter, Abigail Rose, to the House floor along with the doctor who refused to accept the prevailing diagnosis of her colleagues.

Abigail is believed to be the first baby ever to survive Potter's Syndrome, a rare condition in which the baby's lungs and kidneys fail to develop properly due to a lack of amniotic fluid.

After speaking with doctors who said the child had little or no chance to be born, or that the baby would suffocate shortly after birth, the Beutlers wrote, “There is no medical solution available to us. We are praying for a miracle.”

They found hope in the form of Dr. Jessica Bienstock, the residency program director for the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Bienstock was willing to try the process of amniofusion, in which saline solution is injected to compensate for the lack of amniotic fluid.

As the injections continued, the parents saw their unborn baby girl respond.

Abigail was born last July 15 during only the 28th week of pregnancy. She weighed just two pounds, two ounces.

“After a few minutes, it was clear that her lungs were very well developed for a baby born so early,” the congresswoman said.

The Beutlers said Dr. Bienstock and the Johns Hopkins staff had been "willing to fight for the impossible, and they succeeded.

Watch the video here.