Need to travel to terminate non-viable pregnancy

Hello, my name is Heidi and I am asking for help for my best friend, Xena.

Xena's biggest wish in life is simply to be a mom. In December 2022, after dealing with infertility, Xena got the best news ever. She would finally be a mom!

Xena was diligent about being the best mom she could. She had been taking prenatal vitamins everyday prior to conception. Unfortunately, at 12 weeks, Xena went in for a routine NIPT testing. The ultrasound showed a devastating neural tube defect: acrania. This defect means that the baby has a brain, but does not have a skull. The back of the baby's head is open, leaving the brain to be degraded by the amniotic fluid. In the baby's ultrasound picture posted here, the back of the head is clearly already missing. Babies with acrania who make it through labor, only survive hours. These babies are also in horrific condition with brain matter oozing out of the back of their skullless heads. Xena is absolutely devastated by her baby's prognosis. After looking at pictures of babies born with acrania, Xena made the personal decision to terminate her pregnancy. Her hope is that she will save her baby from any further suffering.

Xena lives in Missouri and does not have access to termination due to the law against abortion in our state. We are needing to travel out of state and pay out of pocket for this termination that we feel is medically necessary.

Any help contributed to this fundraiser will go towards travel expenses and to pay for the termination procedure. Thank you all for your support and well wishes.