Recently a woman saw a toddler drowning in a pond. No other adults were around, so despite the water's icy temperatures and the fact that she can't swim, the woman, Peng Weiping, jumped into the pond and rescued the toddler, saving the 2-year-old girl's life.
A true hero, right? You would think so, but not everyone agrees. In fact, some have called her downright reckless and irresponsible for the rescue. The reason: Weiping is 6 1/2 months pregnant with twins.
But should that change anything?
According to China Daily, Weiping and her babies are fine. She's currently in the hospital, and the immediate risk of miscarriage has been ruled out. Doctors did say that there could still be consequences for the babies, but that as of now, everyone is stable, fortunately.
Still, the incident, which happened in the Anhui province, has sparked considerable controversy and condemnation of Weiping's actions. One mother-to-be, Wu Ning, told the paper:
Peng was risking not only her own life, but also that of her babies'. Even thought what she did is selfless I wouldn't recommend it — just imagine how she would have felt if she had lost the babies. People have to think rationally about their own safety.
For her part, Weiping says she didn't think twice before she jumped into the pond. She said she just closed her eyes and jumped in.
And really, how could she have done anything else? In a situation like that your instincts kick in, and I can't imagine anyone in the same situation doing anything less than she did. Sure there were her own babies to think about, but when you see a life in front of you fading, how could you not act? If heroes always thought about the personal risks to themselves and consequences for their families, we'd have few heroes. I would hope I would have done the same thing, pregnant or not; I would hope anyone would do the same if it was my child in trouble.
Sure we should take every precaution we can when we're pregnant and not recklessly put our unborn children in danger, but to say that this woman is somehow selfish or careless for her heroic feat is outrageous. She should be nothing but lauded for it, and her twins are lucky to have such a brave mother.
Do you think this woman should be criticized for risking her babies' lives? Do you think you would have done the same thing in a similar situation?
Image via spaceodissey/Flickr
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Comments 148
the article said she couldnt swim, so not only was she risking her babies because the water was icy cold, but she also stood a huge chance of drowning even once she got the toddler...
I dont know, i feel like she irresponsible.
This woman is a hero. Anyone who says otherwise is heartless, if it was their daughter drowning and that woman had not jumped in they would have blamed her, you just can't win with unreasonable people so they need to just sit down and shut up.
She was right to do that and will be rewarded and blessed for it. Of course authorities are considering the risk she put herself and unborn baies through, but her actions were selfless and I dare say heroic.
I think she acted in the moment. No one really has 'time' to think ,about the consequences when instincts take over.
If the Chinese 'destroy' all female children in favor of males, there eventually will be no male babies either.
Just recenlty I went to the zoo and saw these 2 little boys leaning over the edge of a railing that looked over a ditch area that was a good 10 feet down, I saw no one was telling them to get down and they had climbed up on the railings and were pratically half their bodies over the edge. They had to have been at least 3-5 years old. I immediatley went over to them and asked them nicely to please get down because that was dangerous. They complied and got down, I saw a woman putting things into a stroller 2 feet behind us who said something to the boys, by name, about staying near the stroller and to wait for their mother. She never said anything to me. My husband kind of gave me a look and said maybe I should not have said anything. But it really made me upset to know that no one would say anything, I was not the only one who gasped or acknowledged the fact that these boys were being unsafe. I would hope someone would step in to save my children if for some reason my eyes were not in their direction. This woman in the article, while being a little reckless, did save this girls life....period.
Wow......just wow! I do not see how anyone could watch a sweet little 2 year old drown! When you go into action to save a life, not sure you have a lot of time to consider all the options or pros and cons! Instinct would drive this action and probably later she was horrified for her own babies/twins. Wonder what everyone who is criticizing her would have done? Too bad there wasn't someone else there to rescue the child who wasn't pregnant and who could swim. Where was the mother, anyway?
Long story short, no way could I watch a baby drown if I could do anything about it!