Anencephalic Fetus/Right to Abort?

[MulusChristi]

A co-worker of mine’s wife had an anencephalic baby. They were evangelical Christians and carried the baby to term. The baby died soon after birth, but the witness of the couple was very powerful. They both held the child as long as they could. There was a funeral for the child at their church. They have since had several healthy children and I am sure that there will be wild rejoicing in heaven when their family is fully united. I still am awestruck at their faith and how they lived it out.

A minor technical point. I would imagine that “anencephaly” comes in a range of severity. In some cases, only the brain stem or parts of the brain may be there. In such a case, the baby is not dead, even though it may not be viable in the long term. Autonomic functions (heartbeat, breathing) are buried in the deepest part of the brain.

For all of you who require conciousness to define someone as a human being: please stay away from me while I’m sleeping

 

[fix]

MulusChristi:

A minor technical point. I would imagine that “anencephaly” comes in a range of severity. In some cases, only the brain stem or parts of the brain may be there. In such a case, the baby is not dead, even though it may not be viable in the long term. Autonomic functions (heartbeat, breathing) are buried in the deepest part of the brain.

Exactly. If the brain were totally absent, or totally non functioning, other organs would not function either. I do not think that is a minor point at all.

 

[masondoggy]

fix:

Exactly. If the brain were totally absent, or totally non functioning, other organs would not function either. I do not think that is a minor point at all.

I agree. That’s the point I tried to make but MulusChristi did a much better job.

In fact, this is such a major point that really needs to be repeated over and over and over. Not just with anacephalic babies, but all cases lumped in the “vegetative state” category.

People really throw around the word “brain dead” way too much and attach meaning to it that doesn’t fit.

What it comes down to is as long as there is a body that is at least somewhat functioning, without being attached to a heart/lung machine etc., we must assume that there is life there and leave it in God’s hands where it belongs.

 

[FranciscanDoc]

Although it’s a bit weird to post on a 4-year old forum, here is the answer to the original poster’s question: What does the Church teach on this issue?

ewtn.com/library/prolife/bcdanen1.htm

 

[catharina]

Hi everyone -

I hope I’m posting in the right forum. Today I found out from our supervisor at work that a co-worker of mine, who was in the 2nd trimester of her pregnancy, found out during a pre-natal visit this week that the child she was carrying was diagnosed with anencephaly - a defect in which the developing fetus develops without a brain. I understand it’s a form of spinal bifida. Anyways, her husband and her decide that because of the chances that her baby would either died in-utero, die at birth, or die soon after birth, they decided to have an abortion.

Though I feel terrible about the trial that her family is going through right now, I was wondering if this was reason enough for her to go ahead and abort the baby?? There was no danger to the mother (or really the child for that matter)…what are the Church teachings on this? Any resources you guys can site so I can look into this a little further???

Please pray for my co-worker, her family, and the child. I understand this was done today.

Thanks

The Catholic Church teaches there is NO justifiable reason for an abortion. EVER.

I will pray for all, including you.

 

[pnewton]

Although it’s a bit weird to post on a 4-year old forum, here is the answer to the original poster’s question: What does the Church teach on this issue?

ewtn.com/library/prolife/bcdanen1.htm

Great link. I found this part helpful:

The “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services”, Directive 45, states: “Abortion (that is, the directly intended termination of pregnancy before viability or the directly intended destruction of a viable foetus) is never permitted. Every procedure whose sole immediate effect is the termination of pregnancy before viability is an abortion, which, in its moral context, includes the interval between conception and implantation of the embryo”.
The phrase sole immediate effect is further explained by Directive 47 which states: “Operations, treatments and medications that have as their direct purpose the cure of a proportionately serious pathological condition of a pregnant woman are permitted when they cannot be safely postponed until the unborn child is viable, even if they will result in the death of the unborn child”.
In other words, it is permitted to treat directly a pathology of the mother even when this has the unintended side effect of causing the death of her child, have life-threatening effects on both mother and child, but it is not permitted to terminate or gravely risk the child’s life as a means of treating or protecting the mother.

In other words, the law of double effect might apply. In the one case I knew, the child in question was a twin and had no brain, not not brain function, but no brain at all. He was alive by feeding off the nutrition of the mother and was starving the other twin by consuming an inordinate amount of nutrition.

The one caveat to double effect that must be considered is that the consequences, or secondary effect, can not be worse that the good that is being done.

 

[vera_dicere]

Impaired brain function? Anacephalic babies have NO brain function! Their brain is dead (it’s not even there anymore), and it probably died months ago. This is different than a persistant vegitative state. Their body will die within minutes of being born, if it doesn’t die in the birth canal. Chances are, their soul is already in heaven, and was long ago.

.

babyfaithhope.blogspot.com/

There are varying degress of anacaephaly.

Some children have no brain, like NO brain, others, like baby Hope in that blog have enough brain to live a little while.

It is wrong for us to determine who lives and dies, or rather, who we kill, based on their brain amount. However, if the foetus has NO brain, like absolutely NO brain, including missing the brain stem, then even I cannot sit here and denounce someone’s choice to bring that pregnancy to a premature end - however, as so many have said already, if there was no semblence of a brain or brain stem, the foetus wouldn’t be a live. Regardless, to kill the child is still morally void and it boils down to either that child dies naturally, or the mother actively seeks it murder. Women in this situation, wanted that child, aborting it would only result in more grief and pain for the woman and her family. Pre-natal hospice would be the best bet.

Of course, the church teaches that where there is life, there is a soul. So, if that child is alive in the physical biological sense, then sitting within that flawed prision of flesh, is a soul.

But who knows, perhaps our Lord in His wisdom uses that child’s condition to educate those around them as to the value of life, and the humility we must all try to obtain through such suffering.

 

[Rence]

Hi everyone -
I hope I’m posting in the right forum. Today I found out from our supervisor at work that a co-worker of mine, who was in the 2nd trimester of her pregnancy, found out during a pre-natal visit this week that the child she was carrying was diagnosed with anencephaly - a defect in which the developing fetus develops without a brain. I understand it’s a form of spinal bifida. Anyways, her husband and her decide that because of the chances that her baby would either died in-utero, die at birth, or die soon after birth, they decided to have an abortion.

Though I feel terrible about the trial that her family is going through right now, I was wondering if this was reason enough for her to go ahead and abort the baby?? There was no danger to the mother (or really the child for that matter)…what are the Church teachings on this? Any resources you guys can site so I can look into this a little further???

Please pray for my co-worker, her family, and the child. I understand this was done today.

Thanks

Wow, that’s pretty unprofessional for your supervisor to tell you about your co-worker’s situation. I hope she had permission to do so…

The Church’s teachings forbid abortion, even if the baby had anecephaly. I will pray for your co-worker, her family, the child and you. What’s done is done, all you can do now is support her and be there for her. Only God knows what was going through her mind when she got the news, and the turmoil she and her husband felt as they were discussing it.

Perhaps you can show her documentation from the Church that might help her make a different decision if the unthinkable happens again. Of course not NOW, but later, when she’s had time to heal a bit.

Here’s something that might help you:
ewtn.com/library/PROLIFE/bcdanen1.htm

 

[Rence]

If a fetus has no brain, it would not be alive and therefore could not really be aborted. If the baby were alive, it had to have at least basic brain function.

Depending on the extent of the anencephaly, the baby is alive unless otherwise stated. If it were dead, hCG levels would diminish and fetal demise would be diagnosed. In this case, no one said the baby was dead. Babies born with anecephaly are alive, but die a few minutes, hours or even days later.

What sometimes happens is, the mother gives birth to the baby, and holds it and loves it until it passes the natural way.

Here’s a gallery of these special babies and their parents:
anencephalie-info.org/e/pictures.php

 

[Rence]

An anacephalic baby is already dead.

Sorry, that is untrue. An anacephalic baby is alive unless otherwise diagnosed.

In development, something happened that was severe enough that the entire brain died (an anneurysm, a severe stroke, etc.). For whatever reason, the body did not, so there was no miscarriage, however, there is no brain- it cannot think, feel, move (other than involuntary movements, perhaps) sense (other than reflexes- maybe), perceive, eat, sleep, drink, dream, or anything like that.

That’s not true either. It has nothing to do with aneurysm or stroke or anything of the like. It’s merely a birth defect that involves the brain to the extent that the baby is able to live off the placenta, but then dies shortly some time after birth. It can feel pain, and it can respond to it’s mother.

I am very much against abortion, and birth control, but I am also against having someone go through the pains of childbirth knowing they will deliver a brain-dead baby whose body will die soon after birth if it isn’t dead already. What a trauma that would be! Anacephalic babies often don’t just come out looking with normal, but dead looking bodies- quite often, their heads are flat and faces are contorted because there is no skull- or only a partal skull (if the brain died before the skull was formed). It is horrifying. It is the kind of thing you do not sleep for a long time after seeing, and it haunts you for years to come. Childbirth (hormones, the pain of birth, etc.) is stressful enough as it is- when a baby dies it is much worse- when you see it’s head- how you distinguish him/her- and it looks like those babies’ heads look…I cannot imagine the stress. Seeing them in black and white pictures was bad enough.

Whatever your opinions are, and they are important, the OP asked what the Church teaches. While I certainly lack no opinions of my own on this forum I try to also express what the Church teaches, if only because this is a catholic forum. The Church teaches that abortion is forbidden in all cases. And you have to remember that you cannot abort a dead fetus, that’s not an abortion, that’s removal of a dead fetus. An abortion is specific to a living fetus. I understand where you’re coming from, I just wanted to clarify the Church’s teachings, which say that only God is in charge of life and death.

They were right to have the abortion. Hopefully, it was done as soon as this condition is detected, but I say suffer the trauma of delivering the baby rather than willingly give a dime to planned parenthood. I do not understand carrying a brain-dead baby once you have found out about the condition- it was dead months ago.

I can’t either. A brain-dead baby is already dead, and a woman should definitely have it removed before it causes problems. But a living baby, brain or no brain, lungs or no lungs, etc. is still living.

Women who choose to have their baby and love it until the moment it dies are truly wonderful, brave and strong women. And so are their families: anencephalie-info.org/e/pictures.php

 

[Rence]

This is untrue and is an affront to all disabled persons. Humanity, and the inviolate right to life, is not in any way dependent on “brain function” or ability. The right to life is inherent in our dignity as human persons.

The child is alive, growing, and it is a gravely immoral act to kill it.

I don’t think this poster has any intention of insulting disabled persons. I think she is confusing anecephaly with a baby that is already dead. I could be wrong though, but from her post, I think she didn’t understand exactly what anencephaly is, or at least didn’t know there were different levels of involvement.

 

[vera_dicere]

Women who choose to have their baby and love it until the moment it dies are truly wonderful, brave and strong women. And so are their families: anencephalie-info.org/e/pictures.php

Isn’t this a strange mindset that society has crafted, whereby the woman who carries her disabled/terminally ill child to term is considered “brave” and “strong”.

On one hand, does that mean those who abort are cowardly and selfish? Or does it mean our society has made it so difficult for those with disabilities and their family, and have removed what should be completely natural, the concept of carrying these pregnancies normally seem, bizzare?

40 years ago such diagnosis would have been rare, if even probable, and these mothers surely would have had one heck of a shock when a skullless child came from them. You’d think now we could do more to support the emotional needs of the woman then shed the blood of her child.

Probably has a lot to do with the individual’s need for complete control and society’s need for perfect babies. The baby is going to die, but I’ll kill it first and have control!

 

[Rence]

Isn’t this a strange mindset that society has crafted, whereby the woman who carries her disabled/terminally ill child to term is considered “brave” and “strong”.

I think it’s brave and strong for a woman (and her husband) to face the certain death of their child and the pain of grief that goes with it, instead of taking the easy way out and just aborting early in an attempt to try and forget about the death and pain. It can’t be easy to find out your child is terminally ill after the joy of finding out one is pregnant. Remember, not every pregnancy is due to rape, or oops. Some people are in love with their babies from moment the little dipstick shows they’re pregnant.

But you know, people do that in live with living adults too. Have you noticed? When an adult is diagnosed with cancer there’s a group of people who hover around and soak up as much of that person as they can - while they can. And then there are others who kind of take a step back and try to guard themselves. Maybe it’s my nursing training…but I’m used to seeing both sides and used to trying to give support to both sides.

On one hand, does that mean those who abort are cowardly and selfish? Or does it mean our society has made it so difficult for those with disabilities and their family, and have removed what should be completely natural, the concept of carrying these pregnancies normally seem, bizzare?

I don’t think they’re cowardly and selfish, they’re trying to protect themselves from the hurt involved with delivering later rather than aborting now and figure the fetus is going to die anyway. I’m wondering if it’s an educational issue too, depending on what the doctor has told them. Look at the posts in the beginning. A few people thought the fetus was already dead. Why do they think that?

I haven’t experienced difficulty with disabilities in my family, so I can’t answer that. You already know that some disabled live very enriching lives in their environment, and some do not.

40 years ago such diagnosis would have been rare, if even probable, and these mothers surely would have had one heck of a shock when a skullless child came from them. You’d think now we could do more to support the emotional needs of the woman then shed the blood of her child.

I hadn’t heard of that. If it’s true that anencephaly was rare 40 years ago, there’s definitely something in the water… And I think nurses try to cover up the skull with caps from the get go. It’s the parents who take them off. You know, some people deal with these types of deformities easier than others. I’d compare it to watching a surgery: some people are holding their breath in the corner hoping to hold their lunch, and others are practically falling in the sterile field with awe. People are just not used to seeing extensive deformities and it’s scary for them.

Probably has a lot to do with the individual’s need for complete control and society’s need for perfect babies. The baby is going to die, but I’ll kill it first and have control!

I can’t begin to think what’s in these people’s minds. I’m sure they’re flooded with emotions, grief among them.

 

[AmNiTo]

An anacephalic baby is already dead. In development, something happened that was severe enough that the entire brain died (an anneurysm, a severe stroke, etc.). For whatever reason, the body did not, so there was no miscarriage, however, there is no brain- it cannot think, feel, move (other than involuntary movements, perhaps) sense (other than reflexes- maybe), perceive, eat, sleep, drink, dream, or anything like that.

They were right to have the abortion. Hopefully, it was done as soon as this condition is detected, but I say suffer the trauma of delivering the baby rather than willingly give a dime to planned parenthood. I do not understand carrying a brain-dead baby once you have found out about the condition- it was dead months ago.

WRONG. Anencephalic babies are NOT brain dead. There is varying degrees of anencephaly.
I, myself, had an anencephalic baby, whom I carried to 37 weeks.

It’s unfortunate that someone would not understand carrying to term… You do not choose the baby’s fate. God does. I personally know a woman that gave birth to an anencephalic baby girl and she lived for 4 months. So to think you know when the baby “died” is ludacris.

Impaired brain function? Anacephalic babies have NO brain function! Their brain is dead (it’s not even there anymore), and it probably died months ago. This is different than a persistant vegitative state. Their body will die within minutes of being born, if it doesn’t die in the birth canal. Chances are, their soul is already in heaven, and was long ago.

If a woman has a miscarriage, but it doesn’t all come out (sorry if this is graphic), the doctor does a D&C to remove it. It’s almost the same thing- the baby has died, but it’s still in there. Its body, except the brain of course- it’s dead- is still getting nourishment from the mother, so it’s being there isn’t going to cause the mother to go into toxic shock, but the baby is dead. I guess the question to answer is when does the soul leave the body? When the brain dies, or when the body dies? The brain controls the “human-ness” of the person, the body consists only of reflexes and natural cellular processes. It would make sense to me that the soul leaves the body when the brain dies.

I understand that- the pictures I saw were from a medical textbook. The babies’ heads looked like deflated balloons. I would not want to see that as a parent- I couldn’t stand it. A partial-birth abortion would never be the answer- they should have made the decision before then. You can detect anacephaly earlier than right before the baby is about to be born. I don’t support the saline or suction abortions for this case either- mainly because they support the abortion industry that kills babies that could be born healthy- it may just amount to delivering the baby by c-section soon after the diagnosis- when the mother is under anesthesia, and never has to see the body.

They aren’t just disabled- they are truly brain-dead. They have no brain at all. Their body is alive ONLY because they are attached to the mother. I bet their souls were in heaven weeks ago.

This is incorrect. Anencephalic babies have varying brain function depending on how much brain is missing. There are numerous mothers I know who have had babies with different functions such as crying, taking a bottle, etc. Also, not all anencephalic babies look like the pictures shown in books. Those are severe cases.

Isn’t this a strange mindset that society has crafted, whereby the woman who carries her disabled/terminally ill child to term is considered “brave” and “strong”.

On one hand, does that mean those who abort are cowardly and selfish? Or does it mean our society has made it so difficult for those with disabilities and their family, and have removed what should be completely natural, the concept of carrying these pregnancies normally seem, bizzare?

40 years ago such diagnosis would have been rare, if even probable, and these mothers surely would have had one heck of a shock when a skullless child came from them. You’d think now we could do more to support the emotional needs of the woman then shed the blood of her child.

Probably has a lot to do with the individual’s need for complete control and society’s need for perfect babies. The baby is going to die, but I’ll kill it first and have control!

I must say, I am quite offended by this post. My husband and I chose to carry our anencephalic baby to term and to think someone thinks we’re bizarre makes me downright angry. We chose to go full term to give our daughter the best chance at life possible! Who are we to try and decide how long our child would live? A doctor told me the following: “If you induce early, you’re deciding when and how she dies. If you carry to term, it is GOD that decides when and how she dies.” This meant a lot to us and it was true. Our daughter was born alive and lived for a bit.

 

[AmNiTo]

I know this threa is really old but…after reading what has been said about anencephaly I felt it was only right that I shed some light on the subject. Before I begin, I’ve had a child with anencephaly and am Catholic and in now way looking for sympathy… I just want to clarify some things. No I’m not a doctor, just a Catholic parent with a big heart.

Anencephaly doesn’t automatically make a child brain dead. There is varying degrees of anencephaly. A child can be missing part of the brain or all of it. Even with the child missing ALL of the brain (like our daughter) the brain STEM is still present. The stem controls breathing and heart rate. I have researched the church’s view and found documents stating the church doesn’t view anencephaly as “brain dead”, nor do doctors. I will have to find these again. I personally know mothers who have had babies that lived DAYS, some even MONTHS. These children had various capabilites… some drank from bottles… THAT most certainly is not a “brain dead” child.

Carrying to term was a hard choice and I can see how some would induce early. The only way we got through our pregnancy was with strong faith and lots and lots of praying. Our family was supportive as were our friends. We weren’t looking to be martyrs and have a pity part; we were just trying to do what was best for our child. There were no complications with the pregnancy and our she was born alive and lived for a bit.

Also, anencephaly isn’t something that has just “popped” up in society. It has been around for quite some time. However, there is limited documentation of pregnancies with it. Duke has most recently doing tremendous amounts of research on anencephaly along with other neural tube defects.