Catholic couple's child born on Roe anniversary seen as 'miracle'

EL PASO, Texas (CNS/Rio Grande Catholic) - El Pasoan Sofia Alomia will celebrate her first birthday this January much like any other toddler. However, amid the cake and presents, Sofia's parents, Yvonne and Santiago Alomia, will take time from the joyous celebration to commemorate the millions of babies killed by abortion.

Limited Reserve Grass Fed Beef Shop Now

Sofia was born Jan. 22, 2006 - the 33rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion throughout the nine months of pregnancy. She could be considered a miracle baby not only because of her date of birth but because several doctors, fearing she might have a severe cardiovascular disorder, repeatedly urged her parents throughout the pregnancy to abort her. But Yvonne Alomia refused to consider abortion, despite the repeated urging of doctors, colleagues, friends and her own patients from her optometrist practice. Sofia was born with heart problems. When she was 3 days old she had heart surgery. She is due to have a second surgery after her first birthday and faces additional heart surgeries but her parents are optimistic. "We would not do anything differently," Alomia said, and Sofia's every smile proves that "it has definitely been worth all the trials." During her third month of gestation, Sofia was diagnosed with DiGeorge velo-cardio-facial syndrome; a portion of her 22nd chromosome was missing. It can result in conditions ranging from relatively mild to severe, including cleft palate, Down syndrome, immune deficiencies, kidney abnormalities and cardiovascular diseases. The concern for Sofia was cardiovascular. Two fetal echocardiograms showed no pulmonary arteries from the baby's heart to her lungs, which meant she might die shortly after birth or have a range of critical medical problems affecting her health and life. The doctors said the arteries perhaps existed and maybe were too undeveloped to see, but they also strongly encouraged Alomia to terminate the pregnancy. Alomia and her husband concentrated on what Sofia would need after she was born. Late in the pregnancy, Sofia's heart was enlarged and appeared to fill her chest cavity, making successful heart surgery questionable. Still, Alomia refused to consider aborting her baby but sought advice from doctors, priests and El Paso Bishop Armando X. Ochoa on making a decision regarding extraordinary medical measures, including immediate surgery after birth, which might only cause Sofia pain without increasing her chances of survival. "We just wanted to make the best decision according to the progress that Sofia made or did not make," Alomia said in an interview with The Rio Grande Catholic, El Paso's diocesan newspaper. "We were expecting her to die within hours of birth since no pulmonary arteries were seen and it was the most probable outcome," she said. A Caesarean section was scheduled for Jan. 24, 2006, but during morning Mass Jan. 22 Alomia went into labor and the doctors decided to deliver the baby at 3 p.m. Alomia considers the day and time of Sofia's birth no mere coincidence. She credits the intercession of a neonatal nurse on duty at the El Paso hospital who began praying her Divine Mercy chaplet when Sofia was delivered, who convinced the neonatal doctor to take a second look at the baby and who talked Alomia into surgery for Sofia. Recalling that Jesus died at the age of 33, Alomia stated, "I do not feel that Sofia's birthday being the 33rd anniversary of Roe and the C-section starting at 3 p.m. are coincidences." Alomia feels that her difficult pregnancy was planned by God so she and her husband would "reach out to people who have had abortions and convince them of God's infinite mercy and to let people know it is wrong to abort." Although many people urged Alomia to have the abortion, many others supported her decision to nurture life. "The response was incredible and is still ongoing. The people of El Paso are beautiful people and we are thankful to God for allowing us to be surrounded by them," Alomia said. For others experiencing a difficult pregnancy, Alomia recommended Prenatal Partners for Life (www.prenatalpartnersforlife.org) for assistance and support. Alomia said she would tell those parents: "They are not alone and that God has a special plan for each and every one of us."

---

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops