Next Gen News

Her fertility specialist referred her to a doctor in Atlanta who did reductions. But when Shelby called, the office manager told her that she would have to pay extra for temporary staff to assist with the procedure, because the regular staff refused to reduce pregnancies below twins. She contacted three more doctors and in each case was told: not below two. "It was horrible," she says. "I felt like the pregnancy was a monster, and I just wanted it out, but because we tried for so long, abortion wasn't an option. My number one priority was to be the best mum I could, but how was I supposed to juggle two newborns or two screaming infants while my husband was away being shot at? We don't have family just sitting around waiting to get called to help me with a baby."

Today, her daughter is two and a half years old. Shelby intends to tell her about the reduction one day, to teach her that women have choices, even if they're sometimes difficult. "I am the mother of a very demanding toddler," she says. "I can't imagine this times two, and not ever knowing if I'd have another person here to help me."