Minnesota couple refuses to abort children, six are born

Minneapolis, Minn., Jun 12, 2007 / 07:24 am

For the first time in recorded history, a Minnesota couple has given birth to sextuplets. Although they were counseled by doctors to abort all but two of the children, Ryan and Brianna knew it wasn’t even an option.

The new parents had been trying for a year to conceive a child, but were unable to do so naturally. “We spent over a year praying and trying on our own. Eventually we came under the care of a clinic that had succeeded in helping some of our close friends conceive.”

The first attempt at using a fertility drug produced no results, but the second drug, Follistim, resulted in Brianna producing two or three eggs. “There was a 25% chance of us having twins, a 3 % chance of us having triplets and anything else was laughable.”

Originally, the thought that Brianna might be carrying six children wasn’t even a possibility. According to Dr. Helain Landy of Georgetown University Hospital's Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, the chances of spontaneously conceiving sextuplets is one in 4.7 billion, although the odds improve significantly with fertility treatment.

A few weeks later, they learned that there were in fact six babies conceived. When doctors discovered that Brianna Morrison was carrying sextuplets, they advised couple to opt for "selective reduction," in which the woman carrying multiple fetuses reduces the number of viable fetuses to two by a procedure that is a multiple abortion.

"However, we knew right away that this is not an option for us," the couple wrote. "We understand that the risk is high, but we also understand that these little ones are much more than six fetuses. "Each one of them is a miracle given to us by God." “He knows each one of them by name and we will trust Him absolutely for their lives and health.”

Although the couple’s preparations for their newborns were not adequate, they are confident that God will provide for them. “Truly God [will] sustain us in this just as He has sustained us in everything we’ve ever experienced. He will bring the lives of these babies to full health and fruition and everyone will say, ‘Look, God has done something amazing!’”

The Morrison's four boys and two girls were born premature, delivered after just 22 weeks. Doctors at Children's Hospital listed them in critical condition Monday afternoon, with weights ranging between 11 ounces and 1 pound, 3 ounces.

More information can be found at their website: http://www.morrison6.com