Gianna Molla was a physician who loved her husband and children. When Gianna became pregnant again, she and Pietro agreed that she would stay home with the children after the baby’s birth. But at two months, Gianna was found to have a non-cancerous uterine tumor. The experts gave her three options: complete hysterectomy to remove the growth, which would also result in the baby’s death; removing the growth and terminating the pregnancy; or simply removing the tumor and continuing the pregnancy, knowing that complications could occur in the next seven months. Gianna, who as a physician had a keen awareness of the risks related with all three options, chose the third. Seven months later, a healthy baby girl was born; they named her Gianna Emanuela. But a week later, Gianna herself was dead of an abdominal wall infection that spread into her bloodstream. Today, with prompt medical care, she likely would have lived. Turning over control to God often is difficult, and it can be especially challenging when our expertise and knowledge of the situation make the surrender more complicated, as was the case with Gianna Beretta Molla. And yet, she did not hesitate in her radical trust, selecting the best course for her unborn child, even though it brought increased risk to herself.
