Defiant Birth: Women who resist medical eugenics (book)

While congenital anomalies are more common than we think, we rarely hear the stories of the people that have received a prenatal diagnosis. We have collated some stories here, to share with you the variety of reactions, experiences and outcomes.

Note: these stories appear in random order.

We understand that stories which may empower one person, may be unhelpful for another.

Please use the dropdown category box to select a particular topic or to avoid other topics. The decision-making category includes stories that reflect the vast array of potential experiences.

Select the View Profile button to read more about the story, or click on the image to go straight to the source.

Please contact us to let us know about any other stories featuring a prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies so we can share them here.

Website: https://www.spinifexpress.com.au/shop/p/9781925581911

About the resource

“Defiant Birth tells the courageous stories of women who continued their pregnancies despite intense pressure from doctors, family members and social expectations. These women were told they shouldn’t have their babies because of a perceived imperfection in the child, or because their own disabilities do not fit within the parameters of what a mother should be. In the face of silent disapproval and open hostility, they have confronted the stigma of disability and had their children anyway.

Some of the writers tell of grave misdiagnosis, others of life-changing experiences, discovering the joy and love in children considered unworthy of life.

Melinda Tankard Reist dares to expose how eugenics is practised today, and how it is condoned, even expected, by mainstream society. More than ever before, doctors are diagnosing babies in the womb as less than perfect. But what if the ‘cure’ they offer will end the child’s life?”

(Blurb from https://www.spinifexpress.com.au/shop/p/9781925581911)