Just a few days ago, Joy-Anna Duggar and her husband, Austin Forsyth, shared some unbelievably tragic news: When they went in for the 20 week scan for Joy-Anna’s pregnancy, the doctor couldn’t detect a heartbeat. Miscarriages typically happen during the first trimester, but for some reason, Joy had one halfway through the gestation – and it was clear that she and Austin were absolutely devastated by the news. Thankfully, as they explained in their social media posts about the news, they’ve been able to find some solace in their faith. “Although we don’t understand why,” they wrote, “God has given us unexplainable peace and comfort during this very difficult time.” “Yes, it still hurts and we have cried countless tears, but we know that we can trust the Lord.” They also revealed that during the scan, they learned that they were going to have a daughter , and that they named her Annabell Elise. As for the meaning behind the name choice, they said “Annabell means ‘God has favored me,’ and Elise means ‘God satisfies.'” “What a precious thing to know that when our daughter opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the face of Jesus.” Along with their written post, they also shared a photo of Joy in a hospital bed with Austin comforting her. The next day, they shared even more photos, including some with their late daughter . Those are the ones we’re going to be discussing today. In the caption of the photos, Joy wrote “We only had her for 20 weeks, Life is fragile and precious.” “So thankful the Lord gave her to us for that short time! She will be in our hearts forever!” She also thanked her followers for their love and support, and her best friend, Carlin Bates, “for coming to town to be here for me and for doing my hair and makeup for pictures with our little girl!” They didn’t share a photo of Annabell — the most you can see of her is a hat covering her head as Joy holds her. But because she was in the photos at all, and because of Joy’s comments about having her hair and makeup done, a lot of people are feeling a lot of feelings about all of this. As one of their followers said, “This is a very private moment for y’all to be sharing it … sad. Y’all are different.” “OK, that needed to be a private moment,” another Instagram user agreed. “Not something that you get your hair and makeup done and dress up a miscarriage. We are all praying for you but REALLY. Get real!” One person went a step further, commenting “Honestly it seems a little sadistic to me to have a full on photo shoot with a deceased baby, just for likes on the internet. I could never.” Another particularly insensitive comment read “Hair and makeup to take pics with your dead baby?! Jesus sweetheart your families priorities are disgusting.” These are just a small sampling of the comments on Joy and Austin’s Instagram post, but similar things were said in several places across the internet where the Duggars are discussed. And it’s honestly not OK. The loss that Joy has experienced is huge, and one that not everyone will go through. You can judge the Duggars for all sorts of things, but you can’t judge them for she’s grieving now. It’s not uncommon for people to do photo shoots like these to remember the only time they’ll be able to see and hold their child, and if Joy wanted to look nice for such an unimaginably tragic occasion, what harm does it really do? Besides, so many women have already thanked her for, as they see it, being brave enough to share such personal photos because they too have had similar losses, and it’s nice to know they’re not alone. Some may have a hard time looking at these photos, and that’s understandable. View Slideshow: 33 Stars Who Have Suffered a Miscarriage Others may not be able to comprehend why she’d want these photos, let alone why she’d want to share them with thousands upon thousands of strangers, and that’s fine too. But we can let the girl grieve, can’t we?
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Joy-Anna Duggar Bashed for Sharing Photos with Stillborn Baby
