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Its record as an institution may be spotty, but the House of Representatives honored vulnerable life yesterday, giving a standing ovation to a one-year-old whom doctors had said was certain to die in the womb or shortly after birth.

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-WA, brought her infant daughter, Abigail Rose, to the House floor along with the doctor who refused to accept the prevailing diagnosis of her colleagues.

Abigail is believed to be the first baby ever to survive Potter's Syndrome, a rare condition in which the baby's lungs and kidneys fail to develop properly due to a lack of amniotic fluid.

After speaking with doctors who said the child had little or no chance to be born, or that the baby would suffocate shortly after birth, the Beutlers wrote, “There is no medical solution available to us. We are praying for a miracle.”

They found hope in the form of Dr. Jessica Bienstock, the residency program director for the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Bienstock was willing to try the process of amniofusion, in which saline solution is injected to compensate for the lack of amniotic fluid.

As the injections continued, the parents saw their unborn baby girl respond.

Abigail was born last July 15 during only the 28th week of pregnancy. She weighed just two pounds, two ounces.

“After a few minutes, it was clear that her lungs were very well developed for a baby born so early,” the congresswoman said.

The Beutlers said Dr. Bienstock and the Johns Hopkins staff had been willing to fight for the impossible,” and they succeeded.

The House saw Wednesday that the baby is alive and well.

House Speaker John Boehner, sometimes given to displays of emotion, was moved to tears as he recognized Dr. Bienstock, who was visiting the chamber.

“In her career she has delivered over 1,000 babies, and one of them is well-known to us,” he said, beginning to choke up. “And she is Abigail Rose Beutler, who, of course, is the daughter of our friend – ” he said, gesturing toward the congresswoman, who was holding baby Abigail in her arms.

Beutler and the baby waved, as the House erupted in a standing ovation.

“If she is a happy, healthy miracle, Dr. Bienstock is the miracle worker who helped give the gift of hope and life to this family,” Boehner concluded, thanking all doctors and other medical workers who save children's lives.

The Beutlers hope other babies will be given the opportunity their little girl had.

“We had more doctors tell us ‘no’ than tell us ‘yes,’ and there are other parents who have had similar experiences,” the congresswoman said last year. “We’d like this to be part of the conversation when this diagnosis comes again, so these parents have an option.”