My Child, My Gift

FORWARD

 

As a former pro-choice obstetrician-gynecologist who had little regard for the sanctity of human life, it was only through the grace of God that my desire to protect the unborn, and help their mothers at the same time, occurred when I asked the Lord to come into my life in August of 2000. Since then I have dedicated my life to serving God by volunteering as medical director of three pregnancy resource centers: A Woman's Concern, CareNet of Rhode Island, and Woman To Woman Support Network of Middletown, Rhode Island. For years, I have. been waiting for a resource which I could offer my patients faced with a difficult prenatal diagnosis. My prayers have been answered in Madeline Pecora Nugent’s My Child, My Gift, A Positive Response to Serious Prenatal Diagnosis.

 

This book is a comprehensive guide for parents who are unfortunately given the “bad news” regarding their pre-born child with either an ultrasound or laboratory diagnosis of a potential or real congenital problem. It explains to them both secular and religious faith-based strategies on how to emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually prepare for and assimilate the multiple and various emotions they will have to reconcile, as well as how to deal with the mixed messages they will be receiving from family members, friends, physicians, and their own inner conflicting feelings.

 

Madeline utilizes both her personal experience and multitudes of interviews conducted with parents given severe prenatal diagnoses to convey the message given by Jesus Christ, to explain to His disciples why a man was born blind, “from birth.” They asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him” (see Jn 9:1-3). 

 

I have come to believe that every life is precious in the eyes of God and should be also in the eyes of man. God is sovereign over all life and has an eternal purpose for all His creation. King David clearly declared God’s love for all pre-born children when he wrote:

 

“For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.” (Ps 139:13-14)

 

I would like to thank Madeline for her relentless love for life, especially the life of the pre-born with a severe prenatal diagnosis. Her passion to “[s]peak out for those who cannot speak” (Prv 31:8) is completed by her love and compassion for the parents who are struggling to “defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Prv 31:9).

 

May God continue to richly bless her and her mission to convince mankind of God’s moral will regarding the sanctity of life which is found throughout His Word beginning in Exodus when He declared, “do not kill the innocent or those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty” (Ex 23:7).

 

For His Eternal Glory,

Mark X. Lowney MD, FACOG

Fall River, Massachusetts

May 16, 2007
 

 

Scripture cited throughout the book is from the New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition).