VICTORIA, Canada — A baby boy has been successfully delivered via C-section from a Canadian woman who has been brain dead for nearly two months.
As previously reported, Robyn Benson, 32, collapsed on December 28th after complaining of severe head pain. It was later discovered that she had suffered massive hemorrhaging on the brain, and was declared to be brain dead. Her husband Dylan, who went to the store to get Benson a bottle of Tylenol, returned to find his wife unconscious, but still breathing. Doctors attempted to revive Benson, but were unsuccessful, and concluded that it was unlikely that the woman would ever wake up.
As Benson was 22 weeks pregnant when the incident occurred, she was put on life support until the couple’s child could be delivered via-C-section. Her husband began fundraising online to help cover expenses for the care of their son, and well exceeded his goal of $36,000. As of press time, funds raised totaled over $191,000.
While reports initially stated that the baby was to be born in the weeks to come, Dylan has now announced that his son, Iver Cohen Benson, has been successfully delivered. He weighed two pounds, thirteen ounces and was 28 weeks gestation.
“Iver is healthy and is the cutest and most precious person I have ever met,” he wrote in a blog post this week. “As to be expected, it will still be a bumpy ride for he and I as he continues to grow under the care of the wonderful staff at the hospital.”
The event was bittersweet for Benson, as the following day, his wife’s life support was disconnected.
“[W]e had to unfortunately say goodbye to the strongest and most wonderful woman I have ever met,” he explained. “I miss Robyn more than words can explain. … She will live on forever within Iver, and in my heart.”
Benson’s story follows a controversy that erupted out of Texas last month over whether women should be allowed to be disconnected from life support if they are pregnant. As previously reported, a 14-week pregnant Marlise Munoz, who was likewise declared brain dead, was ordered to be removed from life support upon a judge’s order, raising protest and objection from pro-life groups nationwide.
Attorneys for the husband and parents of Munoz had fought hospital officials in court after the hospital sought to keep the woman on life support until the baby could be born via C-section. Munoz was nearly 24 weeks pregnant when she was removed from the ventilator, and her baby girl was named Nicole.
Although attorneys for the Munoz family had contended that the baby was “distinctly abnormal” and may have also had heart issues, some pro-life organizations said that the child should have still been given a chance.
“Why was baby Munoz denied even the possibility of survival? It appears that the baby girl’s disabilities determined her value in this case, and sadly, it was wrongly decided that her life was not worth saving,” said Jennifer Mason of Personhood USA in a news release. “[D]isabled children are created in God’s image, and still have a right to live.”
Photo: MisterBenson.com
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