Dr. Pitt sighed. “Ms. Smith, I know you’re absolutely devastated, but you really can’t keep the baby you’re carrying. It’s your responsibility toward your child. You don’t want your child to be subjected to people’s scornful looks when he or she is born, do you?”
Natalie said nothing as she clutched her stomach tightly with both hands. A chill engulfed her.
Argh! Why did this happen? Why would such a misfortune befall my child? I didn’t eat anything I shouldn’t have eaten!
Her eyes gradually turned red as her heart twisted in agony.
At her grief-stricken expression, Dr. Pitt lowered his eyes a fraction to mask the guilt in them. He again persuaded her, asserting, “Ms. Smith, your pregnancy is less than two months now, so this is the best time to abort the baby. If you were to abort during a later stage in your pregnancy, it’d affect your health. If you’re amenable, we can perform the operation for you right away.”
Hearing that, Natalie shot to her feet. “No! I’m not going to abort…”
“The baby is deformed,” Dr. Pitt interrupted, his voice solemn. “If you insist on delivering the baby, missing organs and limbs is the least of your concerns. There’s also the possibility of the child being born comatose or stillborn in more severe cases. Do you understand that?”
What? Comatose? Stillborn?
Natalie’s lips trembled, and she could no longer say that she wanted to keep the baby because she couldn’t accept either of those possibilities.
Even the possibility that the child would be missing limbs or organs wasn’t something she could bear. It wasn’t that she disdained the child, but she was afraid that the child would grow up with low self-esteem and despise himself or herself.
A greater fear was the fact that others would discriminate against the child.
Thus, she really couldn’t keep the child. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to consent to aborting the child either.
All at once, she plunged into a dilemma.
Noticing her reluctance, Dr. Pitt didn’t continue persuading her.
After all, it would only arouse suspicion if he were to come on too aggressively.
“I don’t think you can make a decision right now, so why don’t you go back and consider it carefully, Ms. Smith? Come back when you’ve made up your mind,” he murmured with a gentle smile, placing his hands on the table with his fingers interlocked.
Forcing a smile, Natalie nodded. “Sure, I’ll do that. Thank you, doctor.”
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