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Defiant Birth: Women who resist medical eugenics (book) » stories of prenatal diagnosis

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  • Defiant Birth: Women who resist medical eugenics (book) » stories of prenatal diagnosis

We know that prenatal diagnosis is more common than many think. Yet, we rarely hear the stories of the people that have received unexpected news about the health, development or genetics of their unborn baby. We wish to change that so parents no longer feel hidden or isolated.

We collated the stories of parents, who share such moments of love, fear, heartbreak, and hope.

Please know:

  • These stories appear in random order.
  • Stories which help one person, may be unhelpful for another.

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.

Click on the logo/image to go directly to the story, or select the View Profile link if you wish to read more about it first.

Please contact us to let us know about any other stories we should include here.


  • The results are being filtered by the organization: Defiant Birth: Women who resist medical eugenics (book)
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Defiant Birth: Women who resist medical eugenics (book)

Courageous stories of women who continued their pregnancies despite intense pressure from doctors, family members and social expectations.Read More

“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)