A couple of weeks ago I was watching a Grey's Anatomy episode where a lady and her husband came into the hospital to get a pregnancy test. The doctor performed the test and excitedly gave the couple the news that they were going to have a baby! The wife burst into tears and exclaimed that she wanted an abortion as soon as possible. The doctor was confused and tried to explain that there are other options. The wife then explained how she is HIV positive and knew that she could never have a baby because they baby would be born with aids too. Therefore, this pregnancy was not planned and she wanted to terminate it as soon as possible.
As someone who fights to save unborn babies lives, this scenario was new to me. I had never been posed the question of, "Can someone with aids still have a baby safely without passing on the aids?"I immediately put it in the back of my head to research later, so I could be fully educated on the matter. However, Grey's Anatomy answered the question for me! The doctor on this episode, Izzie Stevens, went to her superior and explained the situation, asking if the baby had to be aborted or if there were other options.
A little later in the episode, the Dr. Izze Stevens goes back to the couple to inform them of the other options. Because of the advancements in medicine in the United States, by taking the right precautions, mothers have only a 2% chance of passing aids on to their babies. Thats huge! Only 2%. That's 2 out of every hundred, and absolutely no reason to end a human being's life!
When a mother does not take these precautions, the chance of aids being passed on is 25%, or 1 in every 4. So taking these precautions is very important! During the pregnancy, there are antiretrovial drugs that the mother can take. Also, C-sections are recommended and not breastfeeding it very important. Much more information about pregnancy can be found online at: http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/prevention/reduce-your-risk/pregnancy-and-childbirth/. And some helpful information and steps to take before getting pregnant if you're HIV positive can be found here: http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/staying-healthy-with-hiv-aids/friends-and-family/having-children/.
It is very important to be educated incase questions like these come up. I would have had no idea how to answer that question if someone had asked me before. However, thanks to Grey's Anatomy, I can now ensure someone that is HIV positive, or just interested in what would happen if they were, that keeping their baby does not mean they will be transmitting aids. I can inform them that by taking certain precautions, the chance of that happening is only 2%! And you can too! This information can be the difference between life and death for a unborn baby.
Will you help us save lives? Share this helpful information with someone that is HIV positive, someone who is interested in a question like this, or just share it to raise general awareness about other options besides abortion.
We choose life, do you?
-Angela
