I received the following note and photos this morning. They are self-explanatory.

Dear Jill,

The reason I'm emailing is because a little over two weeks ago I experienced a miscarriage. It was very difficult to deal with, as I was so excited about having a fourth child and had no idea anything was wrong until the day I had the routine ultrasound, and the doctors told me that the baby had died in my womb. :-( I had to wait a week to miscarry the baby, and it was so difficult.

Once the baby came, I took several pictures of the baby, who was around six weeks old when he or she died. These pictures were first taken for myself, so that I would never forget what my baby looked like....

But I want to share the pictures with you, because you may be able to do something with them to help the pro-life cause. I feel if the loss of my baby can do anything to help save the life of even one baby, my baby will not have died in vain. Do you think there is any way you can use them for the pro-life cause? I trust your judgement and know that whatever you choose to do with them will be respectful to my baby's life.

I realize there are many textbook images, but somehow I think a picture taken by a "regular" woman - up close and personal pictures - might be more helpful than other pictures and help people realize the reality of those images... that they're not fake... because even though I was extremely pro-life before I saw my baby and had already seen hundreds of pictures of fetuses in the womb, seeing this real baby in front of my eyes really was incredibly amazing. How complex they are!

Bethany
View my blog (usually updated daily): http://bethany.preciousinfants.com
View my pencil drawings and wall murals: http://www.sketchesbybethany.net

P.S. My baby died due to a brain abnormality. So you will notice that the head does look a little strange at the top, and that is the reason why. Aren't the little fingers and toes beautiful?

wow

mk

That's horrible. I'm very sorry for her loss. I can't imagine what it must be like to be looking forward to having a new addition to your family only to have it die in utero. :-(

It's kind of funny (not ha ha funny) when you think about it, that this post should sum up everything we have been trying to say about new life. And that it came right on the heels of the previous post...

Put this post together with the last post and you could pretty much put the whole thing into two words:

the "ULITIMATE GIFT"

I wasn't shouting, just emphasizing.
MK

Thank you for sharing your baby with all of Jill's readers Bethany. Your baby is beautiful.

Jill, I am overwhelmed with gratitude...thank you so much...

I'm very sorry for your loss.

Bethany,I am sorry for your loss as well.

Jill

First of all, this has absolutely nothing to do with my personal views on abortion, so please read this as though its from a fellow medical professional, not from someone who's politics you disagree with.

You have posted photographs of a deceased fetus, from a woman who had a miscarriage only 2 weeks ago. She is still in a state of extreme grief, and possibly shock. While she has every right to do what she wishes with these photos, you posting them is a different story. At this point, ANYONE could copy these photographs from your website and use them out of context, alter them, publish them, etc., compromising the privacy of this woman. Even though she gave you the blessing to do whatever you wanted with them, I think the responsible thing to do would have been to publish her story and her links, but refrain from posting the pictures. If someone were to use these images in some sick way (which has happened PLENTY of times by pro lifers AND pro choicers), you could be held responsible, as Bethany could quite easily, and justifiably, say that she was in a state of grief and had not thought out what could happen to those photographs should they be posted for a large audience on the internet.

You believe a fetus is a child, yet would you post pictures of a murdered 2 year old on your website if a grieving mother sent them to you no more than 2 weeks after the child was killed?

I sincerely hope not.

In working with teen girls who often use the internet as their primary source of photo-sharing and communication, I have seen just how damaging personal photographs can be when posted in a public arena and basically handed to people who will use them in harmful ways.

I urge to to reconsider posting this woman's private photographs in such a way. And please do not make this about my stance on abortion, considering this fetus was miscarried in the first place, I can assure you it has NOTHING to do with how I feel about abortion, but rather how I feel about VERY, VERY sensitive and private information being displayed in an irresponsible manner.

Amanda, I sincerely appreciate your concern for my emotional well being, and I think that they come from a spirit of kindness...so thank you for caring.

I can assure you that although I am still in a state of grief over losing my child (who I named Blessing), I was fully aware that posting them on the internet does pose some risks. However, I am willing to take those risks for the pro-life cause.

If I were to do nothing with these photos, I would always wonder if there were someone out there who could have been informed and possibly changed their mind about having an abortion.

You asked if Jill would post pictures of a murdered child...but my child was not murdered...he or she died of natural causes which I nor anyone else had control of. Because of this, there is no shame in posting the pictures....these pictures are the truth, of what many people do not even realize is actually there at 6 weeks in the womb.

Even I did not know they were that fully formed in the womb at that time...even though I have been to pro-life websites for years, and had seen nearly every picture there is to see of the fetal stages... So I felt that if I didn't even know this myself, how could I expect others to, especially the people who truly feel that a baby is just a blob of tissue?

I want people to be educated about the facts of life in the womb.... there is truly a living human being in there, and I want people to understand that.

Thank you to all who have posted condolences...it means a lot to me.

Bethany,

Your baby is in the arms of a loving God and will never suffer again. No tears, no pain, no death, to be fully clothed in a glorified body, a beatiful body we can't imagine this side of heaven. And you will see your baby someday and together you will walk in the gardens and live in the mansion the Lord has prepared for you both to enjoy, forever. I know this is true without a shadow of a doubt.

It's difficult to understand God in these situations, however, it is not our right to question. We are only to trust in an infintely loving God who ultimately loves us unconditionally.

I want you to know what courage you have shown in sharing the grief of your loss. You could have chosen to just keep it to yourself. You obviously understand the value of every life, no matter what stage of development they are in. Any one with a heart cannot deny that this was a living soul destined for greatness and greatness it has acheived in it short time of existence here on earth.

Your baby had a purpose and gave it's life so that maybe, just maybe, one woman would decide against an abortion by seeing these photos. Yes, this "least of these" is a special, very special person and you must be a very special mother. God does not allow this type of thing to happen to ordinary individuals.

Jill, you did the exact right thing in posting these photos. Post more and make them more public, shout it at the world.

As a man, I am in awe of two of the most courageous women I know of, Jill and Bethany. I wish more en had 1/100th of the courage you two have.

Abortion is murder and abortionists are murderers. That's the truth and no false intellectuals or scientific facts or published papers will ever change that.

Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. Without the fear of the Lord one is just a self-deceived fool.

Amanda, your concern for Bethany is honestly touching.

Had I not posted the photos of Bethany's baby at her request, it would have been disrespectful and caused Bethany more pain. These are her child's only baby photos.

Many parents try to cause good to come from the tragedy of their child's death. Doing so is brave, healthy, and healing. I think of Adam Walsh's father John, who created "America's Most Wanted," or Jessica Lunsford's father Mark, who has been travelling the country urging states to enact "Jessica's Law."

In this case, Bethany would like her child's death to help stop abortion by showing how completely and miraculously formed her baby was when s/he was only 42 days old and the size of a kidney bean.

I laud Bethany for that and appreciate her help. Americans are by and large against second- and third-trimester abortions but have yet to understand the humanity of a first trimester baby. Bethany is helping in this extremely important area, not only by sharing her baby's photos but by sharing her grief.

Grief about miscarriages is also important to validate, and your note has been helpful in that regard, Amanda. People often do not understand how deeply one feels the loss of a child through miscarriage.

Hope this helps calm your concerns, Amanda. And Bethany, I appreciate your taking the time to respond, too.

I "met" Bethany through her blog and followed the story of her baby's loss.

These are beautiful, amazing pictures and I truly admire this mommy's willingness to share them with the world!

Amen to that His Man. I second the motion!!

Thank you so much for your kind words, HisMan....and Margaret and Momof3. :)

Thanks for posting this story. My wife and I were expecting our second child last August and she miscarried about 6 weeks in. It's so weird to miss someone you've never met...but we do. Time has healed, but we still think of our little one that is in our Savior's arms. May God heal your heart with his love.

I'm sorry for your loss, bigdog....I completely understand what you mean. Even at such an early time, losing a baby due to miscarriage is so emotionally painful...you're not only losing the baby, but the hopes and dreams you had for that baby, and having to say goodbye to that little one that you were so willing to welcome into your arms and into the family! Thank goodness that we have hope of seeing our babies again, and that we know that there is a reason or everything that happens...even if we can't see it at the moment. God knows what He's doing. Thank you for your kind words.

bethany is a truly amazing person. I have met her through her website and admire her for her strength and courage. When I suffered a miscarriage my husband found her website for me because of his concern for me. She willingly opened herself up to me and shared her grief and pictures of Blessing. I was not able to see my baby due to a D&C and being lied to by the doctor but her baby gave my baby a face. Miscarriage is not looked at by the medical community and by society as a loss of life but just a loss of tissue. If it were just tissue why did I have to fill out a death certificate? One wonders? Do aborted babies get the same or are they just thrown away like common trash? I always was against abortion but after suffering a miscarriage I am even more against it. We need a medical community to stand up against the demands of pro-choicers and show the real facts of abortion. If abortion is just a medical procedure how come it is not done on live tv like a colonoscopy? Do the abortionists know it is life they are taking but don't want to admit it due to the lucritve money they receive? I have personally known 2 women who had abortions at young ages (I met them when they were older) and the grief and pain they still carried with them was incredible..even after 20+ years. I am thankful for Bethany because she was able to share her beautiful baby with the world to educate people on womb development. Thanks bethany and thank you Jill for this site.

I lost a baby about 7 years ago at 10 weeks gestation. Most heartbreaking thing that ever happened to me....... but now am involved in care of Chernobyl children with my husband. God knows the beginning from the end. Like you, I saw the arms, legs, spine, it was awful..... and that is the worst bit.

God Bless..........

I am so sorry for your loss...I am 48 and just miscarried after accidently becoming pregnant...

That's actually really cool. I lost my baby at 10 weeks it stopped growing in my womb at around 8 weeks and took actually look at a real picture and think that's what my baby could have looked like that's really amazing.

I just had a miscarriage yesterday and they will be doing a D&C to remove the baby. I was 10 weeks and baby stopped growing at 6 weeks but was still alive till a couple days ago. Thank You for providing these real pics. Sorry for your loss.