In December of 2018, the world’s smallest surviving baby was born in San Diego’s Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns. Her name is Saybie, and she was born at 23 weeks and 3 days old, making her birth monumental in many different ways. She weighed 8.6 ounces at the time she was born. Saybie fought and is continuing to fight hard, spending six months in the hospital and growing outside of the womb. As of May 2019, she was released from the hospital and had grown to 5 pounds.
Saybie’s mother was experiencing severe pregnancy complications and was rushed to the hospital, where she gave birth. There are many risks with premature births, making Saybie’s birth even more of a miracle. Her survival and unprecedented growth are incredible and inspiring. Saybie’s birth is a direct statement towards many of the radical abortion talking points offered by abortion advocates in recent months.
Politicians, religious groups, and the public as a whole are divided on this issue, passing laws left and right in complete contradiction with one other. Some people, including most Democratic leaders, support abortions being legal up until the moment of birth, with an emphasis that a baby isn’t really “living” until he or she is born. However, Saybie’s birth at only 23 weeks shows that babies in the womb are just as alive and human as those that have already been born. A Marist poll published earlier this year indicates that 75 percent of Americans favor abortion restrictions after the first trimester, including 60 percent of self-identified Democrats. While there is intense debate about abortion bans within the first trimester, the vast majority of Americans agree that aborting babies like Saybie is morally horrific and should be illegal.
Many questions have to be raised about when a baby is considered a “person” and what restrictions on abortion are constitutional. Do babies receive the same rights even before they are born? Saybie may not have been the youngest and smallest baby born if circumstances were different. The vast difference of opinion on this issue needs to be considered, and decisions need to be made in accordance with what is right, ethically and legally. This event has brought more consideration to a polarizing issue, which is at the forefront of American politics.
