Kandace Smith, mother with cystic fibrosis, opposed to abortion, has triplets
Louisiana resident Kandace Smith is being heralded as the latest pro-life “hero,” putting the birth and care of her own children ahead of herself, delivering triplets despite suffering from cystic fibrosis.
Doctors had advised Smith to have an abortion due to the high-risk pregnancy situation.
But Smith refused and went ahead to give birth to her three children, in what some reports say is a medical first.
Ultimately Smith carried the children for 28 weeks before her lungs began failing and doctors delivered the children at Tulane-Lakeside Hospital.
“I couldn’t believe that I was actually pregnant, and when the scan showed there were three heartbeats I nearly passed out,” Smith told the London Daily Mail newspaper in a new interview. “I didn’t actually believe it was possible – and there were three babies in my womb.”
“I’ve always had such a problem putting on any weight, I only weigh just over six stone, and I didn’t think I could actually fall pregnant,” she added. “When I discovered I was pregnant, I was in shock anyway. But a week later a scan showed I was pregnant with twins, and then another scan later showed it was triplets. We had only just got used to the fact that we were having twins, so to be told that it was actually triplets was even more shocking.”
About the suggested abortion, Smith told the newspaper, “They told me that to have a termination would be better as it would make sure that I survived. But I was determined. I knew that it was going to be difficult and risky for me, but I wanted to take that risk. I had never thought it was possible that I could ever be a mum, so I wanted to have that chance.”