Moving photographs recently shared online depict the birth of a pair of twins born 18 weeks early — images made all the more stunning by the fact that the babies are expected to make a full recovery and live a normal life.

Katherine Hernandez, the mother of the twins, said the babies "both amazed me and they continue to amaze me." Infants born before 22 weeks' gestation are generally considered to have virtually no chance of survival, yet doctors expect that Hernandez and her fiancé, the babies' father, can take them home soon.

The Hernandez twins were born at 22 weeks and three days. The twins who currently hold the world record for most premature birth were born at 22 weeks and one day.

Hernandez criticized current U.S. abortion law, which permits abortion at virtually every stage of development.