My husband and I just found out today, Easter, that his brother and girlfriend who have 2 beautiful children, chose abortion a couple months ago. She was somewhere between 20 - 24 weeks. My husband and I have feelings of anger, hurt, and sorrow.

I will put all ethics, morals, religion, and politics aside for now. We have lost 5 children; our first, our 7 year old son's twin brother at 5 days old. Our 2nd at 12 weeks gestational, 3rd our first little girl at 24 weeks - stillborn, our 4th, a baby boy at 22 weeks - stillborn, and our 5th, our 2nd daughter at 24 weeks - stillborn. We learned that my body in simple terms, sometime after 20 weeks thinks our baby is foriegn and begins attacking it as if he/she were an infection.

We tried many things, have seen many doctors, but nothing worked. We know our twin boys were a miracle, they were born via emergency c-sect at 30 weeks. They were fraternal; seperate sacks. The doctors believed my body tried to divide and attack, so they were able to survive longer. We know what a miracle our son who is physically here with us is! When it comes to my brother-in-law and his "significant other" we feel so many of these feelings due to the fact that each of our babies were at the same gestational age as theirs that they chose to abort (or to murder as I am currently defining it).

We held and rocked, and loved our precious little angels, even though they were no longer with us. They were all at least 12 3/4" long, all weighed at least 1 lb. They had 10 tiny fingers and 10 little toes. Our first daughter had brown hair. Our boys and our 2nd daughter had blonde. They were all so beautiful. We still talk about them with our son, family and friends. Ian, Ella "Gracie", Ethan, Ariana, and Baby (Our last name). I say all these things because I want others to know that even at 20 weeks you can already see this little person's features.

My good friend's daughter was born at 24 weeks, and she is smart as a whip, and active just like any other child her age. While our son was in the NICU for his first 2 months of life, we saw babies born that early and live and thrive! So it kills us inside, it breaks our hearts to know they made such a choice. It feels like they were saying they could end their childs life because they didn't have the money for a 3rd child, so our babies who died because of medical circumstances, or because it was part of God's plan do not matter, as if at they stage they do not count! I am here to say they do! Everyday they count in my heart, in my prayers, in my memories, when I hear my son playing with his "imaginary" friends, who happen to come from Heaven and have his siblings names, theu count everytime I hear a mom call out their child with the same name at the store or the park, they count to all who know us, who cried with us, who carried us thru, and helped us live again, they count! I wish my brother-in-law and his girlfriend would have remembered how much they counted.

May their little one be safe in God's arms now, may he/she know our love through his/her cousins in heaven. May God grant us the ability to come to forgive our little niece/nephew's parents actions. May they learn that God never gives us more than we can handle. May they learn to have faith. May they learn money does not come before our children, especially when it's a decision of life or death. May they come to know family is always here, to help, to guide.

I wish they would have remembered our longing for another child, and the pain that we feel over not being able to cure that longing. Perhaps if they had remembered they would have realized how many loving couples would have jumped thru rings of fire, walked on hot coals, and crawled thru jagged glass to adopt their baby, one of those couples would be us. I'm not angry over that, I don't know if anyone is that strong to give their baby to a sibling to raise in front of their face. I just wish they would have remembered our pain, our desire to be parents again, and chose to give their baby up to a couple like us, or like his sister who tried for 7 years before finally having their little girl.

I know I am venting. I know you do not know our names, but please no matter your beliefs on this, please could you just pray for our family, for forgiveness, for healing, for trust, and above all faith. May you remember our story if you're considering abortion, especially in the 2nd trimester! No one ever believes their actions effect others, I am proof it does.

-- submitted anonymously