San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
We lost a child. Kate Cox’s abortion decision should have been honored.
For a moment, there was silence.
Olivia was 5 years, 10 months and 6 days old when she passed away in Annalee’s arms.
It wasn’t until after Olivia was born that we learned we had passed a rare, deadly recessive gene to our oldest daughter. Born with mucopolysaccharidosis Sanfilippo syndrome type IIIA, Olivia had spent most of her life poked, prodded, in and out of surgery, in radiation, in chemotherapy, crossing the country on Angel network flights as we desperately attempted to protect the quality of the time she had, knowing we could not save our daughter’s life.
In 2005, at Duke Children’s Hospital in Durham, N.C., Olivia was the 15th child in the world to be treated for this terminal genetic disease. She succumbed to it in 2006. At the time, her therapy was experimental. We are forever grateful to Blue Cross Blue Shield for approving her therapy.
Like many genetic disorders, MPS IIIA did not physically present at birth, but internally, her body was in chaos, fighting for survival. On the pediatric oncology unit at Duke University, in a room next to Olivia, three children in another family had a similar mutation. All three children died. An entire family of siblings, gone.
Because of this personal history, the political and legal discussion around Kate Cox’s decision to have an abortion hit particularly close for us.
We are not advocating about a particular decision. But we are advocating that the decision of what to do when faced with a terminal diagnosis during pregnancy be left to parents. The Express-News Editorial Board has also covered this topic thoroughly.
In general, we tend to stay clear of the familiar labels of the abortion debate. Olivia taught us to be pro-humanity. But it was impossible to see humanity in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s legal battle with Cox, as well as the Texas Supreme Court’s decision.
Cox, 31, a mother of two, recently learned that her fetus has trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, making the pregnancy nonviable. The pregnancy also risked Cox’s life and her ability to have children in the future. But in Texas, where abortion has been essentially outlawed, Paxton chose to intervene, closing off access to an
emergency abortion, even threatening to potentially prosecute three Texas hospitals and doctors.
This points to an overarching and growing concern about a loss of values. We grew up in conservative households, and in Mark’s case, a devout Roman Catholic family. Seventeen years removed from the deafening silence of the loss of a child, we find many of the principles we were taught seem to have been lost in culture and ideological wars. Christianity is too often used to separate us instead
of the intended purpose bringing us together.
Faith is an incredible foundation. However, faith when used as a blunt instrument is destructive and can stop people from exploring important questions.
Important questions like, has the state of Texas considered the next Kate Cox? What about the many other medically complicated pregnancies that will follow? In Republican Ohio, voters in November overwhelmingly approved the right to abortion.
There are more than 3,500 known terminal genetic disorders,
of and they manifest in tens of thousands of pregnancies each year, presenting many of the issues Cox faced. Yet, neither the state nor the federal government does an adequate job educating parents or testing for these invisible, rare killers during early stages of pregnancy.
The pain of losing a child is hard to put into text. But we do know the bond between parents who have lost children is powerful.
In a state that stands on the foundation of freedom, this type of intervention by Paxton should be unimaginable.
Our hope is the Supreme Court of Texas sees through partisan politics and embraces humanity. The Cox family, and other Texas families, should not have to fight Paxton and the state. They should be free to dedicate themselves to the fight for love, reflection and healing.
To Kate Cox and her husband, we send our sincerest condolences and our prayers.
Mark Medici is publisher of the San Antonio Express-News. Annalee Medici has dedicated much of her adult life to the advancement and education of MPS IIIA and is an active parent advocate. They have two children.