Albuquerque, NM — On the weekend before a municipal election that will determine if Albuquerque, New Mexico will become the first city in the nation to ban abortions after 20 weeks, a woman has come forward in a new video to tell why, when faced with a prenatal diagnosis of a child with severe fetal anomalies, she heroically rejected pressure to abort her son, Chance.
Calling the bid to end late-term abortion a “humanitarian issue,” Chantel Stuckman told of the heart-wrenching moment when she and her husband were told that her 24 week pre-born son had deformities so severe that he was not expected to live. While her doctors did not demand that she abort, they pressured her to rapidly make a life or death decision.
Having had an abortion as a teen that she deeply regrets, Chantel knew that this baby must be given a chance at life, however slim.
“Chance was diagnosed with hydrocephaly and other conditions that often lead to abortions out of a misguided concern that the don’t want their child to suffer,” said Tara Shaver, Chairperson of ABQ Voters For Late Term Abortion Ban. “Aborting babies who are sick or disabled isn’t something a compassionate society should do. We should let life take its course, and when we do, sometimes unexpected blessings come from what seems at first like tragedy.”
Chantel agrees, noting that doctors told her that her son would not survive, but he did. They said he would never walk, talk, or read, but he can do all three.
“I think that all children struggle,” said Chantel. “And I don’t think that killing them is ever our first option. I don’t think we look at a child who’s going through drug abuse and say, ‘You know, they’re really struggling. Maybe it would be better if I killed him.’ I don’t think we look at a child who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and say, ‘Well, maybe we should just kill him because their suffering is going to be too much. So I don’t see the fact that a child may or may not suffer as a reason to end their life.”
Today, Chance is a happy 14-year old teen who is a joy to all who know him.
Chantel supports the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance because she understands more than most the heartbreak of a poor fetal diagnosis – and that abortion is not the answer. In a new video, produced by Shaver and Cheryl Sullenger of Operation Rescue, Chantel urges Albuquerque voters to support the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Ordinance for the sake of children like Chance.
Watch the video: “Chance: Life Matters” here.
Chantel Stuckman is available for interviews, please contact Tara Shaver 505-319-7825
Tara Shaver
Chair
