Amanda Schulten (left) of Marengo,Illinois, a small town near the Wisconsin line, is a devout Catholic and refused to end her pregnancy.
She has named the unborn girls Faith and Hope and is tracking her pregnancy in a blog, amanda-faithhopelove.blogspot.com. On the main page is the poignant poem she penned, “I Love You.”
“No matter what happens, my soul will never leave you; If difficulties come here, I will never disappear,” the poem begins.
“I’m sure you would be proud to call me momma,” she writes, “for you are a special gift to me.”
"He has a plan for me, and for them," she said. "We never know when our last day will be. We have to enjoy it, and appreciate health while we have it."
Schulten, who is single, learned on April 1 that she was carrying twins. A few days later she was told the twins were joined at the heart and had little chance of survival. Her doctor advised abortion.
Amanda never returned to that doctor’s office. But dark days would follow in the form of depression and loneliness, as many around her didn’t agree with her decision.
“Some people were really supportive and thought I was doing the right thing … while others, not so much,” she said. “They would say things like, ‘the kids would suffer’ … ‘I’m selfish if I keep the babies because of how short their life span is’ … ‘they’re just going to die anyway.’ ”, according to comments made to the Chicago Sun Times.
The twins share most of their internal organs. One has not developed a lower body so they only have two legs between them.
Schulten was hospitalized Monday and will remain at the University of Chicago Medical Center until her delivery.
She said the reaction she is getting to her blog is similar to the reaction from her family and friends when she first told them the facts of her pregnancy. Some support her decision, while others say she should terminate the pregnancy.
“You know you’re really a mom when you’re willing to give up your whole life for them,” Amanda said. “I will love my kids always and forever, no matter what.”