The miracle quadruplets who almost weren’t are starting preschool

Doctors wanted Grace and James Slattery to abort two of their babies, but they refused.

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Irish parents Grace and James Slattery have four adorable children — Mollie, Lucas, Lily-Grace, and Amelia — whom they adore. But if doctors had their way, the couple would only have two children with them today. The Slatterys had long struggled with infertility, and had suffered multiple miscarriages. Then, they were given a miracle: the couple conceived quadruplets, which is extremely rare. The odds of conceiving quadruplets naturally is 1 in 700,000.

“When I got pregnant naturally with quadruplets I couldn’t believe it as we had struggled for three years and I’d suffered four miscarriages,” Grace said. But their happiness soon turned to sadness, when doctors recommended that Grace have an abortion. She was 17 weeks along, and they wanted her to undergo a “selective reduction” to kill two of her unborn children. She and her husband refused. “Despite being offered to abort two of them before they were even born as they were classed as ‘high risk,’ we decided to let fate decide,” she said. “I was over the moon when the quadruplets were born in May 2014.”

The children “selected” for death would likely have been given a fatal shot of potassium chloride into their hearts, and be left there while their surviving siblings would continue to grow and develop. At 17 weeks, preborn children targeted for abortion are typically subjected to a dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortion — a violent procedure in which the child is literally ripped apart limb by limb.

Instead, Grace carried the four babies to 32 weeks, and all four were born safely, weighing between two and four pounds each. Today all four children are healthy and thriving, including Amelia, who was born with her organs in the wrong place. This month, the four Slattery kids are all starting preschool together, complete with matching uniforms.

“They are definitely little miracles and we still can’t believe we got four babies all at once,” their mother said. “All of them love school and as they wear a uniform now it makes it a lot easier, as trying to think of four outfits for them every day takes a long time.”

“I will miss them when they go back to school but it will be nice to get some peace and quiet after the summer,” she said. “Life is hectic with quadruplets but we wouldn’t change it for the world.”