So while I'm rewatching Emma when she finds out about being sent through the portal, does express some anger at Snow for sending her through the portal, which made me wonder....what if Emma hadn't gone through the portal?
The reasons for sending her through are very obvious. No one knew exactly what the curse was going to be, but Regina had told them it would be terrible. So sending Emma through would've seemed like the right choice.
Would Regina have let Snow keep Emma to raise as a single mother? Would Emma have been the savior if she hadn't gone through? She'd have been subject to the same curse and it's restrictions so she would've have been able to challenge the curse as effectively for sure.
I definitely think Snow and Charming made the right decision, heartbreaking as it was.