Florida

Facebook Says Dead Baby's Photos ‘Graphically Violent'

A woman says Facebook has threatened to disable her account after she posted photos of her baby who died 21 weeks into her pregnancy.

After having four children, Rosalyn Racca thought her pregnancy days were over, until a big plus sign on a pregnancy test gave her and her husband the best and most wanted surprise.

"All exams were fine. Ultrasounds were fine," Racca said.

The Raccas found out early on they were having a boy and chose the name Samuel Tate for their son.

During a routine checkup at 21 weeks into the pregnancy, Racca's doctor realized Tate's heart wasn't beating.

"It was very quickly assessed that he had already passed," Raccca said.

She gave birth to Tate the following morning.

"Everything was there," she said.  "He had 10 toes and 10 fingers. He looked exactly like my husband, even the genetic part left me speechless."

The time spent with Tate was photographed, something that was very important to his mother.

After the memorial service, she posted some of the edited, black and white photos of Tate on Facebook.

"I posted pictures of his little feet. I have a picture of his hand holding the crucifix on my husband's rosary.  I didn't want to offend anyone," she said.

In August, for the one year anniversary of Tate's birth, Racca decided to share some of the more personal, color images of her son, including photos of his face.

"The day before, I put a warning on my status that I was going to be showing these pictures of him because I knew there were some family members who didn't care to see him," she said.

The next day, Racca posted a few pictures of Tate on her Facebook page. Soon after, those pictures were reported as inappropriate content.

"'Graphically violent,' and I was asked to either delete them or change them to private," she said.

But Racca says she's not removing the pictures of her son, even though she's been warned by Facebook that her account could be disabled.

"With all the things that are acceptable on social media, I thought that this was really sad," she said.

The pictures can still be seen on Racca's profile today -- images of a son she loves and doesn't want to hide.

"The whole reason I was sharing this was to celebrate his life and he was my son.  That's all I see when i look at his pictures.  I don't see something barbaric or graphic," she said.

Racca also says that giving birth to Tate increased her desire even more to add another child to their family.

They now have a 5-month-old foster child they hope to adopt.

If you'd like to see Racca's pictures of Tate, click here.

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