Woman 18 weeks pregnant discovers her “unborn baby may lose both its feet.” Obviously, women have aborted later for less severe conditions. (I’m reminded of a third trimester abortion due to a cleft-palate diagnosis.)

Operate while still in the womb and there were risks to both mother and child. Do nothing and their daughter faced a lifetime of walking aids and difficulty.

Doctors at the Monash Medical Centre decided that to save their daughter Leah’s feet, they would have to operate on her at 22 weeks in-utero, the earliest operation conducted on a foetus in Australia and possibly a world first.

It’s interesting to note that the operation was conducted by a pediatric surgeon. Definitely puts a different spin on sayings things like ‘My body, my choice,’ and ‘One body. One person. One count.’ I wonder if pro-choice feminists will be up in arms at the idea that a woman was treated by a doctor for babies.

Mrs Bowlen said. “Just hearing the doctor say she’ll have full function in that foot and basically be able to walk. Hearing that, I know I made the right decision no matter what anyone else says.”

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