​The tiny hand of baby Miran who died 14 weeks into his mum's pregnancy (Image: Kennedy News and Media)
Baby Miran died at the age of 14 weeks gestation, but he has already saved several lives.
His mother Sharran Sutherland shared intimate photos of her "perfect" little boy in a Facebook post on October 12, which would have been his due date, hoping to show the humanity of the baby in the womb. The post went viral, attracting more than 36,000 likes, shares and comments. Since her story was picked up by the Mirror, she says she has many people have been reaching out to her on messenger - including women saying they have been inspired to keep their babies.
My baby, not medical waste
Mrs Sutherland, a mother of 11 from Fair Grove, Missouri, wanted to prove that Miran was "a real" baby, after the doctor called him "medical waste".
"I was so angered by her calling my baby a 'fetus'," she said. "I couldn't believe she would insinuate he was medical waste. I was so angered by that."
Perfect
She also wanted to share what unborn babies actually look like. "I just couldn't believe how perfect everything was on him." Mrs Sutherland said. "His ears, his tongue, his gums, his lips. I couldn't believe it.
"You have those baby books that show you diagrams of a baby in utero but he didn't look like anything I had ever seen," she went on. "I was just filled with such awe and amazement with him. He just needed to continue maturing and growing and developing. It blew me away. It was an incredible feeling. It's really hard to describe."
Abortion industry dehumanising babies
She also said that society's contradictory attitudes towards the unborn make it more difficult for women who lose babies to miscarriage. "This world has done a great job at dehumanising unborn babies. The abortion industry has done a great job at that but it doesn't just affect women who are getting abortions.
"It affects women who have lost their babies too - because the world doesn't view their children as babies," she said. "So when a woman loses her unborn child she's not able to grieve in the same way as a woman who gave birth to a baby that dies after being born. When a woman loses her unborn baby it's almost like you don't speak of it. A woman goes through it alone and I believe that's because other people don't recognise it as a human, as a baby.
"This isn't just about a woman grieving over her baby and not being able to give her baby life, it's about not recognising that this is a baby. It's just a tiny baby."
Changing hearts
When Mrs Sutherland shared the intimate photos of her baby boy online, showing his face and tiny fingers and toes, she wrote: "How can a person deny not only my little boy's humanity but all other babies as young as him and kill them and in such a horrific way? I am hoping that by sharing these pictures of my precious little boy that it might just make one person who is contemplating abortion decide to let their child live."
It seems that Miran's short life and death have indeed helped others to chose life. Mrs Sutherland told the Mirror that a friend "was going to get an abortion because she and the father were young and he wanted her to abort. But she had seen my pictures of Miran, and when she did she couldn't go through with it. She couldn't kill her child."
Saving lives
After the Mirror article came out, Mrs Sutherland posted: "I suddenly started to get private messages and one just made me so incredibly happy. A lady reached out to tell me she is 14 weeks along, has other children but her and husband weren't prepared for another. After reading the article she told me she cancelled her appointment that was scheduled for tomorrow!!"
Another woman commented, saying "This post saved mine too, and talking with you made me feel so much better about having my little girl too. You have an amazing familyðŸ’-ðŸ’-"
Mrs Sutherland also shared that she has been contacted by many women suffering after an abortion, including those who were coerced into it.
Despite her heartbreak, Mrs Sutherland knows that Miran's life had purpose and meaning, and has helped others. "I couldn't believe that he had touched somebody," she said when her friend chose life for her baby after seeing the photos. "I had hoped for it but if it was someone that close, it was amazing.I thought, if that's all Miran's life was meant to do, then so be it."
If you or anyone you know if suffering after an abortion, call the Abortion Recovery Care and Helpline on 0845 603 8501.
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