It’s hard to imagine the depths of depravity involved in the utterly heartbreaking story I am about to tell you. All I can do is cry out against such evil along with the Psalmist, “O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!” (Psalm 94:1). I know we aren’t as bad yet in society, but it’s accounts like this that really do make me feel as if we are living in days like Noah where “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Now for the account.

All of the details I am providing below are pulled from the following sources: this The Federalist article, an Allie Beth Stuckey interview with the woman involved, and an interview with The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network with the woman involved.

Here’s the horrifying story: a 37-year-old woman named Brittany Pearson was hired by two gay men to serve as their surrogate so they could have a baby. The pregnancy journey, however, did not go as planned when, in her second trimester, Brittany was unexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer. The baby’s intended “fathers” then began pressuring Brittany to abort the “fetus,” as they called their “son”.

Now why would these two men want their baby aborted? Because “they didn’t want a baby who would be born prematurely, and who may have serious medical needs.” Suddenly, when having a child would require great sacrifice, these men didn’t want the baby anymore but would rather have him killed to avoid a baby born prematurely or with medical needs. How horrifying!

Now the surrogate mother did not want an abortion—even though her own life was at risk in this situation! She says,

The first thing I thought after I was diagnosed was I want to keep this baby safe and bring it earthside . . . I would have been there, I would have given him every chance of survival. I had people ready to help.

Initially the doctors believed they could give Brittany a chemotherapy regime that would allow the baby to grow in her womb until at least 34 weeks, possibly longer, and then be delivered. Babies at 34 weeks are considered “late preterm” and have a very high survival rate. And yet, even with this very positive prognosis for their child, the “fathers” ultimately wanted an abortion. They wanted their baby born no sooner than 38–39 weeks (which, as any parent who has had a baby knows, is a ridiculous expectation—there is so much in pregnancy you can’t control!). After much persuasion from the doctors, they finally agreed to wait and see, as long as the hospital promised they wouldn’t deliver the baby early.

A later MRI, however, revealed the cancer had metastasized and spread to Brittany’s liver. The original treatment plan would not work—Brittany needed chemo now to save her life. The only alternative was very premature delivery at 25 weeks so both mother and baby had a chance (yes, babies at 25 weeks can, thanks to wonderful medical advances, survive and thrive!). The “fathers” did not want that—they threatened to sue hospitals and doctors who dared deliver their baby early and offer life-saving treatments and interventions to their baby. They wanted their baby aborted and that was the only option they were open to.

Because the child was unwanted, Brittany and other family members, along with three other families, all stepped forward, offering to adopt the baby. The legal parents of the child, the two “dads,” however were unwilling to give their child up and have “their ‘DNA out there’ being raised by someone else.”

Let’s pause this account for a moment to recognize the horrifyingly de-humanizing language these men used to refer to the child they paid to have created; a “fetus” and “their ‘DNA.’” A baby is not just your “DNA” floating around out there—a baby is person, made in God’s very image, with his or her own unique DNA, unique fingerprints, personality, and, most importantly, eternal soul! A child is a precious creation, fearfully and wonderfully knit together by God (Psalm 139:13–14), not merely a biological chunk of DNA to be created, bought, and sold at the will of adults!

Now, Brittany’s contract gave her control over her and the baby’s bodies during pregnancy so she couldn’t be forced to abort him. But once he was born, she no longer legally had any say, the two men who had purchased the egg and paid for the surrogate now had control over the decision making for the baby. To save Brittany’s life the baby was delivered on Father’s Day at 25 weeks and while Brittany didn’t provide many details in her interviews about what happened next, she did share that the baby did not survive.

What a shocking evil—two men who couldn’t have a baby on their own because God designed one male and one female to marry and have children paid for an egg and hired a surrogate so they could have a baby, only to throw him aside as soon as he wasn’t exactly what they were expecting. That baby was treated as nothing more than a commodity to be had or discarded at the will of two adults (and the surrogate mother was treated as just a “rented womb”).

While this story should horrify us all because it is shocking and pure evil, it’s a reflection of the culture we live in—a culture of death that views the wishes of adults as more important than the lives and well-being of children. We see this in all abortions, no matter the reason or the stage of development, in the selective use of “healthy” embryos in reproductive technologies, in the gene editing and stem cells experiments that take place on or with human embryos, and so much more.

The Bible gives a very different view of human life. Humans aren’t just commodities or “fetuses” but are persons made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), fearfully and wonderfully crafted by their Designer (Psalm 139:13-14) with value and dignity bestowed on them inherently by him.

Each and every life is of worth and deserves to be treated with respect, no matter the person’s age, level of development, health, level of ability, perceived “quality of life,” or any other factor.

What a difference a biblical worldview makes!