Kristal Pearl Haith was just 19 weeks, six days into her pregnancy when she went into premature labor. Upon arrival at the emergency room, she was turned away because she was two hours short of being 20 weeks gestation.
Kristal Pearl desperately wanted the doctors to save her preborn daughter, so she sat in the waiting area, bleeding and sobbing, until she was officially 20 weeks pregnant. Once doctors began providing medical attention, labor had progressed and the baby was born en caul, meaning she was still inside the amniotic sac.
Kristal Pearl told Live Action News, “Even the doctors said it was unusual for 20-week-old baby to be born alive, but there was nothing the doctors would do to try and help her. I just couldn’t understand people being in the room who save lives daily, refused to do anything to help my baby.”
Kristal Pearl was able to see her baby wiggling in the fluid until the doctor tore the sac open. She held her tiny daughter against her chest as she passed away.
“The hardest part was watching her die,” Kristal Pearl said. “The nurses tried to spare me of that because once you see that, you can’t unsee it, but I did get to hold her at the last few seconds of her life.
Photo provided to Live Action News by Kristal Pearl Haith.
“I literally slept with my dead baby on my chest for 72 hours because I’ve only known Him to resurrect. I’ve only known Him as the Way-maker,” she said. “But God has taught me that things don’t always work out the way we want but He will work allow all things, even this, out for good.”
Kristal Pearl was moved to tears as she recalled holding her precious daughter in her hands.
“As soon as I saw her, I thought it she looked exactly like my husband. I saw his features. When I held her, she was so tiny. I was amazed at how tiny she was but so developed. I was able to see all of her organs. I could see her tiny lungs, her bladder, her ribs. I saw her eyes, her lips, and her ears. She was so light in my hands.”
When she finally removed the baby from her chest and laid her on ice beside her, Kristal Pearl was able to accept that her premature daughter was gone, as decomposition had begun to take place.
The hospital would not issue a death certificate even though their premature baby was born alive, so the family requested to bring her home and have her cremated.
While pregnant, Kristal Pearl and her husband, Michael, had named their daughter Simone Monet, which means “the Lord heard.” They chose this name because they had been praying for a baby for over a year prior to finding out they were expecting. From the moment she discovered her pregnancy, her children — Caderal, Ebuni, Camille, and Jaxon — were all thrilled.
The entirely family was heartbroken when the OB/GYN realized the placenta was pulling away from the uterine wall. Doctors encouraged Kristal Pearl to abort the pregnancy, calling it a “therapeutic abortion,” but she refused. Although she knew there were risks involved, abortion was not an option she was willing to entertain.
The premature labor and delivery occurred a few weeks later on March 11, 2022.
Photo provided to Live Action News by Kristal Pearl Haith. Do not reprint without permission.
This was not the first time abortion was suggested for Kristal Pearl.
With her first pregnancy, she was told she had miscarried twins. She and one of her prayer partners fasted and prayed before the dilation and curettage (D&C) appointment she was scheduled for. Krystal begged to have one last ultrasound, because she was still experiencing pregnancy symptoms. The ultrasound did show that one of the twins had passed away — but when the ultrasound technician began to cry, Kristal Pearl knew that the second twin’s heartbeat had been detected.
Even after that appointment, Kristal was told to abort the remaining twin because the doctors believed the baby had Down syndrome, three holes in her heart, and kidney dysfunction. Kristal stood strong, believing that no matter what, her daughter’s life was valuable.
At the 37-week appointment, the holes had sealed, the bridge of her nose had fused, and her kidneys were measuring correctly. Other than sickle cell anemia, the baby was born healthy.
Although her most recent pregnancy ended with a premature delivery and her baby passed away, Kristal Pearl does not regret choosing life for her baby. “Her entrance into our life gave us purpose to our pain,” she said. “If I had terminated the pregnancy, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night. I am at peace with God making the choice to end her life instead of me having blood on my hands.”
Kristal Pearl is the owner of Gifted Hands Academy School of Natural Hair in Winston Salem, North Carolina. The building the school is housed in is a former abortion facility. In the past several years, however, the school’s students have brought life into a building that used to be a place of death.
When asked about spending each day in a former abortion facility, Kristal Pearl said, “Every day I think about the fact that this building was an abortion clinic. It does creep me out a little bit, but I’ve prayed over this place, I’ve anointed this place, and there’s just something about turning a place like this into a sanctuary. I’ve been able to feel that this was once a place of desperation, but we’ve been able to impact this area in many ways.”
“I’ve never been able to wrap my mind around how someone could choose abortion, but I think with time, my experience will help me connect with people,” she continued. “I believe God has a ministry for us through this. I know I can help women now that I could have never ministered to prior, because I’ve experienced the finality of losing a baby. I pray for those who have been through these doors. I pray for comfort, mercy, understanding, and wisdom. This is tough. You don’t wake up one day and everything is better. I now know what it’s like to feel like you’re dying but you have to get up and keep going.”
“I’d be dishonest if I didn’t say that I wondered where God was through all of this, but even then, I knew He was trustworthy,” she said. “Even in this there is purpose. When you tap into your purpose, I believe there’s a grace that comes with what you go through. How can I minister to someone’s pain if I’ve never suffered?”
Kristal Pearl and her family will celebrate baby Simone’s short life on March 11, 2023, one year after her premature birth.
