Waiting for Eli

"What would you do if you knew your unborn child would be born with a serious birth defect? That's the question that was facing Chad and Ashley Judice of Lafayette, Louisiana, when their unborn son was diagnosed with spina bifida in a 16-weeks ultrasound. If brought to term, the child could be paralyzed from the waist on down. He would probably have little or no control of his bowels or bladder. And he could have any number of learning disabilities associated with a related birth defect called hydrocephalus, commonly referred to as "water on the brain". When the doctor gave the Judices the diagnosis, she expressed her sincere sympathy, then proceeded to ask Ashley if she wanted to terminate the pregnancy. The medical literature on this birth defect indicates 80 percent of parents who are given this diagnosis do close abortion. Ashley and Chad did not want to be in that number. Instead, they would pray for a miracle" --Cover, p. 2.