Parents Welcome Triplets Who Would've Been Forcibly Aborted in China
Even at first glance, it'd be hard not to fall in love with Landon, Winston and Auden—triplets born Dec. 22 in Miami. The more you find out about the boys' remarkable journey into the world, however, the more lovable they become.
Currently recovering in a Miami neonatal intensive care unit, baby Landon was born at just over two pounds, while his brothers each weighed in at three pounds, five ounces at birth.
While the boys and their parents face a prolonged stay in the hospital to start their life outside the womb, the fact the boys were born at all is no small miracle.
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That's because the boys' parents, Mensheng, and her husband, Zhang, were in the process of relocating from their home in China to the United States when they got pregnant, and didn't realize they were expecting until shortly after they arrived in Miami.
Had the couple stayed a few months—or even a few weeks—longer in China, Mensheng and the boys would've been prime targets for a totalitarian regime that has aborted over 400 million babies since it instituted its One-Child Policy in 1979.
While the government announced a change to the radical policy in late 2015, forced abortion still remains a significant factor under the so-called "Two-Child Policy" currently in effect.
The fact that Mensheng and Zhang were in the U.S. before finding out they were pregnant was an act of God, says Martha Avila, president of Heartbeat of Miami—a group of five locations, including four pro-life medical clinics offering free ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, peer counseling, post-abortive support and material aid.
"The Lord rescued these babies even though they were conceived in China," Avila said. "God allowed them to come here in time so that these babies could live. They were fearful about being alone. They had no one at all in the States, but they found love and support at our clinic and they saw the love of Jesus in action."
In June 2015, Avila traveled to China along with Rev. John Ensor—who founded Heartbeat of Miami and has since gone on to start PassionLife Ministries, an international agency focused on training and equipping the church for pro-life work in China and Cuba, as well as other current and former communist nations.
On her trip to China, Avila was shocked to see the continued fallout of the country's decades-long oppression of women and families through forced abortion. That trip served as an eye-opener for Avila, who has served as Heartbeat of Miami's president since it first opened in 2007.
"These triplets from this Chinese couple really hit my heart," Avila said. "I was in awe to see how women were being forced to abort their second baby. Yet most, if not all, do not want to abort—they are forced to. Then I have the opportunity to see how the Lord rescued these babies even though they were conceived in China. We are rejoicing in God's grace over these triplets."
Since it began serving women in 2007, Heartbeat of Miami has seen well over 35,000 women choose life for their babies in one of the most abortion-heavy cities in the U.S.
When the organization first opened, it was the first known pregnancy center in Miami-Dade County, compared with 37 abortion businesses. Today, Heartbeat of Miami occupies two closed abortion businesses among its five total locations.
Newly arrived from China and with no family in town, Mensheng and Zhang reached out to Heartbeat of Miami for help in mid-2017. There, they met a woman named Lourdes Ponce who connected them with the material help and relational support the center offers.
It's actually the second set of triplets Heartbeat of Miami has welcomed in the past three years. The first set—whose mother was 47 and was set on abortion before finding out she was expecting not one, but three babies—will turn three-years-old in March.
"What an awesome opportunity for Lourdes to show them the love of Christ Jesus our Lord," Avila said. "God's mercy allowed these babies to be born here in the United States even though they were conceived in China. Mensheng and Zhang are not alone. They have all of us."
