Taboo Talks Ep.8: Jaclynn’s Story

Jaclynn Brown is a 36 years old woman from Manitoba, Canada where she and her partner run a busy Autobody Shop. She found out she was a carrier and patient with X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP) following her brother’s diagnosis in 2019. Attempting the IVF route proved to be overwhelming and costly after much testing and finding out she has only one ovary. From there, Jaclynn and her partner decided the natural conception route would be their first step. Finding out she was pregnant and that her child was a boy affected with XLP, was devastating and they made the heart-wrenching decision to terminate their first pregnancy in November of 2020 at 16 weeks. A second attempt at growing their family yielded the same results, another male affected with XLP, and another termination at 16 weeks pregnancy in March of 2022. These horrible odds are not to be taken lightly, with an X-linked condition. Jaclynn and her family made these difficult decisions out of love because they didn’t want to put a child through future pain and suffering with this condition. This is her story.

Listen to her full story on collectively coeXisting.

Taboo Talks

We launched our “Taboo Talks” series on the Remember The Girls Podcast, collectively coeXisting. Throughout this series, we will be highlighting different issues X-linked carriers face that are rarely discussed due to the stigmas and controversies that surround them. We hope that in doing this that we can emphasize that there are people, families, and loved ones behind these decisions. These conversations may be uncomfortable, but they must be heard, and we must respect the voices of the carriers and female patients who share their journeys. These are not tales – these are their lives, their journeys and their personal recollections of who they are in this world. These personal stories are meant to be shared and used as support for future women who may go through similar situations and come face to face with some tough decisions. As a disclaimer, this podcast series features sensitive topics. Understand that the opinions and topics do not express or represent the organizations personal feelings but are here to solely share the guest speaker’s journey and life’s experiences. These opinions and stories are theirs and theirs alone. Please also consult your doctor or a mental health professional regarding your own personal care.

For our first collection of episodes, The Stories Behind TFMR, we will be speaking to X-linked carriers who have experienced a TFMR, or termination for medical reasons. A TFMR occurs when a pregnancy is terminated due to a chromosomal, genetic or structural fetal anomaly, or where continuing the pregnancy would risk the health or life of the mother. We share these conversations to give a glimpse into the complicated world of family planning as an individual with an X-linked mutation. Please know that TFMR for X-linked conditions is not available in all US states or countries.