Sofia's Story: A Victory for Life.(Sofia Alomia)

As pro-lifers mourned the babies lost to abortion on the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade January 22, a little miracle was born in El Paso, Texas. Yvonne and Santiago Alomia refused to abort their baby despite the diagnosis of a severe heart defect. Although more challenges lie ahead, their baby Sofia is now happily growing and bringing joy to their lives.

"No matter what, our children are gifts from God," Yvonne Alomia told NRL News, as Sofia cheerfully gurgled in the background. "We're only babysitting them. Only God can give and take away life."

The Alomias discovered their baby's heart problem at the end of the third month of pregnancy. Ultrasounds showed evidence of an enlarged heart, and an amniocentesis led to a diagnosis of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

The syndrome occurs when a small piece of chromosome 22 is missing, leading to various conditions, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Some of the common effects are heart defects, cleft palate, immune system disorders, and kidney problems.

The months between the diagnosis and Sofia's birth were extremely difficult for her parents, who were urged repeatedly to abort the baby. After a fetal heart echocardiogram, the cardiologist told Yvonne Alomia, "You're running out of time if you are going to terminate your pregnancy." While she responded that as a Catholic, she believed abortion violates one of the Ten Commandments, others continued to urge her toward abortion.

"They said the quality of life would not be good, the baby would not survive, we would suffer throughout the whole pregnancy, it would be too hard to care for a disabled baby," Alomia said. Despite such advice, they stood firm in their belief that their baby should be given a chance to live.

Even with their firm decision not to have an abortion, the Alomias still faced the wrenching decision about how to care for Sofia after birth. They spent much time praying about whether immediate surgery after birth might only cause Sofia pain without helping her survive. "In those last ultrasounds that we saw of Sofia's heart it appeared as if it occupied her entire chest cavity," Yvonne Alomia said, "so we concluded she would probably only live a few hours."