A pregnant Catholic woman in Vietnam diagnosed with cancer saves her unborn child's life by refusing chemotherapy.
Louisiana-born author and Catholic priest Fr. Quang D. Tran, S.J. tweeted on Wednesday a request for prayers for a 34-year-old Vietnamese mother, Anna Nguyen Thi Kim Huong, who died of cancer because she refused to take chemotherapy to save the life of her unborn child.
"Please pray for the repose of Anna Kim Huong who passed away yesterday at the age of 34. She refused cancer treatment to protect her unborn child, and after his birth in February, she began treatment but it was too late. She leaves behind her husband and two children," Tran said.
Tran, who writes for various publications such as The Jesuit Post and America Magazine, revealed in a succeeding post that Huong is a Catholic from the Diocese of Tan Bac-Xuan Loc, which encompasses northern and central Vietnam. Huong also left a note for her husband expressing her gratitude in taking care of her and their children.
"She was from the Diocese of Tân Bắc-Xuân Lộc (Vietnam). She scribbled these last words for her husband: 'Thank you C (his initial) for everything, ok. For always loving, caring for, and being patient with HG (her initial).'" Tran disclosed.
Cong Giao, a local publication in Vietnam, said that Huong's husband, Le Cuong, responded in Facebook after posting about his wife's passing.
"Farewell, may you rest in peace. Thank you for sacrificing everything for me," Cuong said.
Accordingly, Huong is from Tan Bac GX, GP Xuan Loc and was already pregnant with her second child when she learned that she had lung cancer. Huong "refused" treatment for herself in order to protect her child and ensure that the child lives.
"For the life of the fetus she refused all chemotherapy, because that would mean killing the fetus!" Cong Giao said.
Huong, whose first child is a boy, gave birth on Feb. 29, 2021 to Le Minh Khang, her second child. It was only after giving birth that Huong started chemotherapy but the cancer has already progressed. Huong died on Nov. 29. Cong Giao pointed out that Huong was a "heroic young mother" who died for the life of her child, which is similar to that of Jesus' who died for humanity.
"This is a beautiful death. Die so you (the child) can live. Dying to preserve a baby that was endowed by God in a mother's womb. Surely, when the child grows up, the child whose mother died instead, will wholeheartedly thank her mother. Thanks to the mother who sacrificed her life, the child was allowed to enter the world," Cong Giao highlighted.
"(She) has painted a very beautiful image of Jesus, the good shepherd. Jesus used his death to save the world. The cross is the proof of self-sacrifice, of selfless love," the publication continued.
Huong's death is something so contradictory of what is happening in the world in term's of abortion. It is actually counter culture for she has displayed that out of "her love for her child", she was "willing to sacrifice herself." Cong Giao then quoted Jesus who said in John 15:13 that there is no "greater love" than to "lay down one's life for" one's friends, which is symbolic of other people in one's life.
"Because of her love for her child, the young mother is willing to sacrifice herself. Her death has become a sign of love and sacrifice. Death that everyone considers a painful loss, she considers a joy," Cong Giao underscored.
Huong's death took place two days before the United States Supreme Court hearing of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case, a lawsuit filed against the Mississippi Gestational Age Act that banned abortions on 15 weeks of pregnancies by pro-choice groups who disregard the Science that the unborn is fully human at that time.
