God Gave Toni Braxton’s Son Autism Because She Got an Abortion

[Charmed Hour]

Faith based guilt is a strong thing, especially in us Catholics. My MIL had her oldest child born severely impaired (blind, probably deaf, and very neurologically damaged) from Toxoplasmosis. The baby died at 6 months old in a "home" from failure to thrive. My MIL has repeatedly said it was punishment for her having a lesbian relationship prior to meeting her husband. I've said if it was God's punishment, maybe it had more to do with the fact your husband was married to someone else when you met him, with other children he effectively abandoned, and he didn't divorce her and marry you until you had 4 kids and 12 years invested. Maybe HE was being punished.

The reality is, you ate raw chop meat and dug in dirt where feral cats took dumps and contracted an illness. End of story.

[stef]

At my derm's office, they make you sign a form promising you are on birth control and that you will terminate any pregnancy you might concieve while on accutane. I don't know if that's legal or not, but they are dead serious about it. Pregnancy while on accutane is bad news.

As to the rest of this story...

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That's insanity. They have absolutely no right to make anyone sign any such thing. The first tenant of medicine is Do No Harm. Why would you make a promise swear harm to a child? Oh, that's right, to cover their asses from lawsuits. What a bunch of mother fucking assholes.

No,Bella. They are trying to do no harm. This is from Webmd.

Accutane, also known as isotretinoin, is known to cause birth defects, including brain, heart, and face deformities, if women take it while pregnant. Because of this, it is recommended that women of childbearing age taking the drug be tested for pregnancy before starting it and then repeatedly during their treatment. They should also use two forms of birth control while on the medication.

no sure what the legal situation here is, but i agree with bella (and i'm absolutely pro-choice), you can't make someone sign a paper that says you have to abort. that sounds highly unconstitutional and makes my skin crawl. making you sign a paper that informs you of the risks and side effects (and maybe recommends an abortion) for legal reasons is fine, but trying to force someone to terminate a pregnancy is just as bad as forcing somebody to stay pregnant, regardless of the risk.

[sluce]

I have never heard of anyone having to sign a paper stating they will have an abortion, and do not believe that is legal. My sister had onset of adult acne in her late 20s and was on accutane. Her paperwork was all about the damages that could happen if she became pregant while on the med. She remembers signing that she understood the risks and that she had been counselled to use extremem precaution. They required a pregnancy test before they would write the script.

[yanna]

I'm team Accutane on this. If a woman can't manage to have effective birth control while on the drug she'd better stay a pizza face forever.

[NickiDrea]

The birth defects caused by Accutane are extensive and horrific. The chance of having a baby with birth defects while taking it is 25-35 percent (without taking it chance is like 8%), and the miscarriage risk while taking it in the first trimester is 40%. When Accutane came out, before they knew its effect on first-trimester developing fetuses, there were several babies born with severe birth defects caused by it and I think that the majority of those babies died under the age of 1. Even the babies born without the severe physical defects often suffer from intellectual disabilities.

I agree with Sluce- I don't think an abortion clause is legal either. However, Accutane babies live short lives filled with pain- possibly severe pain. You are supposed to be pregnancy tested before taking it, every 30 days while taking it if your doctor is an iPledge participant (something like 70% of providers who prescribe Accutane participate), you aren't supposed to get pregnant for at least a month after stopping it, etc. I think you iPledge may also require the use of contraception while taking it as well. If you do get pregnant while taking it your doctor will strongly urge you to have an abortion. They give you a long lecture about pregnancy before they'll prescribe it. Everything about it is super regulated because of the risks to pregnant women.

You obviously shouldn't get pregnant while taking it. But if you do (things happen) I would think it would be a very difficult decision whether to terminate the pregnancy or not. The risk of the defects are so high, and so can't of those babies suffer so badly. I can't imagine having to see my newborn in extreme pain. If I was taking it I would take every single precaution to avoid getting pregnant. I think I would terminate if I became pregnant on it. But that's just me. What an awful decision to have to make.

[idunno]

I'm sure her son is going to love finding out that his mother considers him a punishment.

This a million times! Her statement reveals more about her negative feelings towards her autistic son than about her religion.

[sputnik]

I'm sure her son is going to love finding out that his mother considers him a punishment.

i don't care for toni braxton but i'm not going to judge her for this.
first, i find it very sad that she hasn't been able to free herself from the ignorant beliefs she was raised in that would lead her to believe god would punish her by giving her an autistic child. second, i don't know where on the spectrum her child is but have you ever been around a deeply autistic child? i don't mean aspies or the more 'manageable' cases. and honestly, i have nothing but respect for any parent of a special needs child and especially of severely autistic children. my good friend is a therapist for autistic kids and i've seen her with these children and it takes the patience and compassion of a saint to be able care for them, and imagine doing that day in, day out? it takes a huge toll on marriages, family life, etc. and yes, i can totally see why a parent would feel like they were being punished.

but yeah, on the accutane stuff, pretty sure her doctor warned her of the risks so either she ignored them, or she really is so unlucky that she got pregnant despite the fact that you're supposed to be on the pill and use condoms if you're on it. and given that this is a woman who has gone bankrupt twice because of her out of control spending habits, i'm gonna wager that responsible behaviour isn't something she does well.

[WhateverLolaWants]

The form seemed kind of iffy at the time. I chose not to try accutane so I didn't really sit down with it an read the fine print, but it smarted of being illegal to me, too (Which is why I questioned it in my original post)

[czb]

that form sounds strange. it would be totally appropriate to require birth contol, but an abortion?

as an aside, i am still surprised accutane is on the market given all the side-effects associated with it ....

[WhateverLolaWants]

Yeah, I had read up on it before my doctor recommended it and decided that it just wasn't worth it. I've also been staving off the recommendation of a daily antibiotic for some time, too.

I would really love to have nice, clear skin all the time, and I do what I can, but I'm not going to ruin my liver or digestive system doing so I would rather have a spotty face than a destroyed liver.

[ConstanceSpry]

That's why I don't understand Christianity. Why worship/believe in a deity which seems dedicated to causing as much misery as possible and even punishes innocent children for their parent's decisions. Also, there are millions of spontaneous miscarriages every year, I guess if God decides to terminate a pregnancy, that's okay?

[manningmsj]

^^^^ The very basis of Christianity is formed on that same idea. We are all being punished by God for the mistakes made in Eden. We are all born with "original sin." Why people find so much comfort in a God who cursed us all before we existed has always been a mystery to me too.

As for God terminating pregnancies, that's interesting. I've never even considered whether religious pro-lifers view miscarriage as abortion performed by God.

[stella blue]

I think it's more likely that God is punishing her for naming her kid Diezel.

[choozen1ne]

^isn't one of them named Demin too?

[tulip]

^isn't one of them named Demin too?

I think it's Denim, like the fabric.

Dumb name either way.