'Pregnancy' Blog Was Anti-Abortion Hoax

A popular anti-abortion blog that told the story of a woman who gave birth to a terminally ill baby was a hoax, the Chicago Tribune reports. For months, thousands of readers logged on daily to follow "April's Mom." They rallied around her, sending photos, gifts, and prayers. On Sunday, the blogger wrote a post—picture included—saying she had given birth and that the baby died hours later.

That's when readers got suspicious. "I have that exact doll in my house," a blog follower said. "As soon as I saw that picture, I knew it was a scam." Eventually social worker Beccah Beushausen, 26, copped to the hoax. "I'm sorry because people were so emotionally involved," she said. Beushausen said she really did lose a baby, in 2005, and started the blog to express her anti-abortion views.
(More abortion stories.)