First-time parents who refused to abort their conjoined twins have documented the few tender moments they had with their babies who were born alive and lived for almost an hour. The couple says that every single life is always precious, no matter how long or short.
Nicole LeBlanc and Austin LeBlanc of Westland, Michigan, both 24, found out they were expecting in October 2022. When Mrs. LeBlanc started getting sick a few weeks in, she suspected it could be a twin pregnancy. She had her first anatomy scan at seven weeks, but at ten weeks she experienced pain in her abdomen and went to the emergency room.
‘Every Human Life is Sacred’
The LeBlancs’ baby girls, Maria Therese and Rachel Clare, were classified as thoracopagus conjoined twins, meaning they were conjoined from the sternum all the way down to their lower abdomen.
“They shared one umbilical cord,” Mrs. LeBlanc said. “They had their own little bottoms, they had their own four legs and their own four arms. ... they shared a liver, and they shared a diaphragm and bowel.
“I had maybe three or four doctors come in. They all told me basically the same thing: ‘This is not a viable pregnancy.’”
The babies’ heart would likely stop, and Mrs. LeBlanc would miscarry, they said. The babies could go to term but be stillborn, or they could be born alive but only live for a matter of minutes, hours, or days. Doctors suggested an abortion.
“Right away, I knew that was just not right,” Mrs. LeBlanc said. “I was really mad that they even suggested it because I went to a Christian hospital. Now, they don’t perform abortions at this Christian hospital, but they would have to transfer me. ... Every human life is sacred, and the womb should be a place of protection, not its tombstone, not where the baby gets murdered.”
Her babies were “really tiny” and Mrs. LeBlanc couldn’t yet feel them moving, but she had seen the twins moving their hands during her ultrasound. She was steadfast: she did not want to kill her babies.
‘I Was in Love’
Having refused an abortion, Mrs. LeBlanc decided to share her pregnancy journey on Instagram to find community and spread hope. She also hoped others would support her with prayers for her unborn babies. While she had huge support from the pro-life community, she also received backlash but stayed true to her beliefs in order to be a voice for her daughters.She said: “They were alive from the moment of their conception, and even though it may not have been like a normal gestation or normal pregnancy. ... They deserve every single chance of dignity and respect that every human person is born with. So the pro-life community really supported my journey.”
The expectant mom was transferred to the care of another hospital, where doctors predicted she could make it to 35 weeks, and that her babies, who had a healthy heart rate, could be delivered alive by planned cesarean section.
‘Like Heaven Came Down in That Operating Room’
The baby girls were placed on their mother’s chest, and their “moving and squirming” was comforting and familiar. Not knowing how long they would have their girls in their arms before they passed, the LeBlancs called their priest to the operating room.
Mrs. LeBlanc said: “The priest was like, ‘Are you sure this is urgent? Can I be baptizing them after the operating room?’ And I’m like, ‘No because they could have minutes.’ ... it was such a beautiful moment.”
With her husband, her mother, and their priest by her bedside, Mrs. LeBlanc welcomed a photographer, provided by the hospital for free, into the room to take photos of these precious moments. Mrs. LeBlanc’s playlist of Gregorian chanting swelled in the background.
“It was really like Heaven came down in that operating room,” she said. “They passed away while I was still being closed up in the OR [operating room]. They passed away in my husband’s arms, together, on the opposite side of the room.
‘I Am Their Voice’
The LeBlancs met and started dating while working at the same restaurant. They got engaged in 2020 and tied the knot in August 2021.In January 2022, the couple agreed that financial uncertainty was no reason not to start a family and began trying for a baby. Nine months later, Mrs. LeBlanc was “so happy” to read positive on a pregnancy test and since losing their daughters, she firmly believes that Maria and Rachel’s legacy lives on.
“I still have my daughters’ cells within me, so with my next pregnancy—and hopefully I have another baby—when we see that baby, the cells of my daughters are going to be in those babies, too. ... it’s going to be so beautiful,” she said.
Today, the mom of two is CEO of Duque Hoodliner Productions, a business specializing in producing hoodliner installation pads for cars. She’s also an active and vocal advocate for the pro-life movement.
Ahead of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day on Oct. 15, she is even donating her breast milk, as can other moms who have lost their babies, to a local woman in need and a milk bank in her state.
“I know a lot of women since I went vocal about my pregnancy,” she said. “I hope that it will be an easy story for them to find, so they can read everything I went through and feel a sense of comfort like they have an older sister. I’m here for them, and I am their voice.”
