The only difference I see between giving birth to a fetus with a fatal fetal abnormality/defect and aborting is deciding when exactly the fetus/beby dies.

I don't think anyone should be forced to continue any pregnancy whether its for a fetal abnormality or because its a girl and they want a boy. But I don't always "agree with" or "like" the reasons.

Sound of crickets chirping.

Funny, I was expecting the pro-lifers to jump right in and say how it didn't matter if a human had no brain, it is still just as human and has as much right to life as any other baby.

I guess not, though.

I don't think a lot of prolifers stick around here, except in drive-by debates. Neutral is the only one I've seen to stick with it (props to him) and I admit he's outnumbered. He holds his own, though.

Many pro-lifers do support abortion if the baby will not be able to live or will suffer horribly in life. But, many others also don't support abortion for whatever reason no matter how extreme the disability is.

I think the reason why we have difficulty giving opinions or arguments about these kind of cases is because if the child with a severe disability was already born, how many people would be for "aborting" his or her life then? We still see it as killing a human being. But...

I have mixed feelings about this kind of thing since we're talking about late-term fetuses here. For example, I see no difference between aborting a severely disabled 8 month old fetus and euthanizing a severely disabled premature newborn. I'm actually pro-assisted suicide and against the death penalty, so I usually support death for those who WANT it. But, when it comes to aborting late-term fetuses who will suffer or have a severe condition not compatible with life, I do see how sometimes a quick death would be kinder in these cases.


PS: I'm actually female!

I don't envy prolifers the difficulty of taking a stance on this, anymore than I envy them the difficulty of taking a stance on rape pregnancies. It's just one of those things where cruelness is going to be perceived by one side or the other regardless of what you support.

Whoops, sorry about the gender confusion, Neutral.

Well now. I just found this forum. I am prolife and my youngest was diagnosed with Anencephaly when I was 16 weeks pregnant. I could no more kill him than I could have killed one of my born children. It was his time to die when he naturally died not because of me causing his premature death. My son was born at 36 weeks and lived for 45 minutes. He did not suffer and we had a birthplan to intervene with meds if he was suffering in any way. He was and is a blessing and a part of our family who we supported in life and in natural death. Every human being, born or unborn, has the basic inalienable right to continue the life they were given. No one has the "right" to prematurely end another human life.

I respectfully disagree with you. My sister became pregnant with an acardic/anencephalic fetus. That equals no brain OR heart. She aborted because she could NOT picture having a baby that might die before, during, or shortly after birth. While I respect your view and totally understand where you are coming from, abortion in circumstances such as these, is completely SELFLESS. Just because she aborted instead of letting things go the "natural" route does not mean her lost one is less of a blessing to her than yours is to you. It does not mean she does not mourn the loss any less than you mourned the loss of your little one. It did not mean she did not support her unborn one. We all react differently to news as devastating as a birth defect incompatible with life. While you had the strength to go through with natural death, she had the strength to prevent any misery her child may have faced. Unlike you, she is against any type of medicine that causes an altered state of mind, be it for the ease of suffering due to death, or for pain relief (and what I mean by this is basically any barbituates or opiates, and those are the most commonly used drugs for terminally ill patients...think morphine and Fentanyl, among others). And unlike you, some women of anencephalic babies (especially those who have had babies who had incomplete anencephaly, only the brain stem, which controls blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing) have actually reported that their babies suffered immensely until death, gasping for breaths, blood pressures unstable, heart problems, temperature regulation issues, severe pain, etc. But the parents of these babies wanted nature to take its course. Some chose sedatives and medications, others tried hanging on to hope by administering life support, and others tried letting go naturally, without medical intervention. My sister wanted none of that. I will contact her to get the link to the support site that she visited, where there were many stories, some like yours, some completely opposite of yours, of women in this unique situation. I guess I am saying, as each person differs, so do values, morals, experiences, and emotions. Your story is unique and I applaud you for the strength to do what you felt was right, but I applaud my sister just as much.

Right, she didn't believe in allowing her child to suffer so she caused suffering by aborting. Ironic isn't it. We all react pretty much the same when told our child is going to die. Our hearts are ripped apart and our world stops. Until you actually lose a child, you have no true understanding. I didn't have the strength, no one does. Those of us who ctt are the same as any other mother no stronger, no weaker. Right, instead of helping a dying child die comfortably and naturally, you would rather just kill him/her to put him/her out of their supposed misery. I don't judge women like your sister, she loved her child and grieves her child the same as I do mine. I do recommend you not judge others who chose to allow their child to live the life and death they were given.

The only reason I can see for not aborting an anencephalic fetus is so that they can have their useful organs harvested once they are born. Otherwise, really, you might as well be incubating a sponge.

Thank you for your "opinion" that does not pertain to reality. BTW, it is very difficult to donate your anencephalic child's organs legally.

Thank you for your opinion about my opinion! I'm glad you appreciate it, even though your idea of what constitutes "reality" appears to be somewhat confused.

If there is a difficulty in donating the useful organs of an otherwise non-functional baby, then those ought to be addressed. It seems very wasteful not to use them for something beneficial.

Actually you have no idea if you would "incubate a sponge" or not. No one actually knows until you have faced this. Thank you very much for calling not only my son but every other anencephalic child a "sponge" and degrading our very wanted children as not "beneficial". Whether we choose to ctt or terminate, we all love our very wanted child. Yes, I would have liked to donate my son's organs but dealing with his impending death and caring for my family was about all I could deal with at the time. Emotionally and mentally I was not able to add fighting the system. Since you know so much about the subject maybe you should be the one advocating for "sponges" that aren't good for anything else to have their organs donated.

Wrong. I know perfectly well that there is no way on earth that I would allow an anencephalic fetus to remain in my uterus for one second longer than necessary to book the appointment and whip it out.

It was your choice not to abort. Now imagine if you had been FORCED to abort against your will, and you will possibly begin to understand a tiny smidgen of how it would feel to be pregnant against your will.

I HAVE lost a child too. My son was born prematurely and died due to complications, so I do believe I am QUALIFIED to share an opinion. And in no way did I judge you. Reread my post, I actually commended you on the strength it took for you to make the decision you did. Geez, learn to read before pointing the finger.

#1. I never judged your sister or her actions but your words that women who ctt intentionally cause our children pain and struggling is a slap in the face.
#2. I am sorry your child died due to prematurity. Losing a child is the worst experience a parent can go through and knowing for months your child is going to die is hell on earth.
Reread your op, you did point a finger and I resent any of us cause our children pain. BTW, every parent of an anencephalic child that I know (and there are hundreds online) has never regreted or felt their child was in pain or struggled.

You are a fooling yourself if you really believe you know what you would do. If I would have been forced to abort, I would not be responsible for my child's death. The abortionist who caused him to die prematurely would be responsible. BTW, I know what it is like to be pregnant against my "will". I was pregnant against my will and then I was told this child was going to die. When I first found out I was pregnant, I would have done anything but homicide to not be pregnant and then when told my unborn child was going to die, I would have done anything to get away from that reality. How heartless and inhuman do you think prolifers are? We are the same as you with the same wants and desires and pain and problems as every other woman. We just don't see killing unborn humans as a solution to those problems. We believe every human life has a right to continue the life that has already been created; a life that, while dependant on the mother, is also separate from her. Can you possibly begin to understand a tiny smidgen of how it would feel to be killed against your will? That is what abortion is.

Abortion is the removal of an embryo or fetus. That's what it is. You can think about it however you like, but the fact remains that an embryo or fetus that is removed during an abortion has no independent existence. It has less life, feeling and emotion than a jellyfish or a mosquito. It simply ceases to exist, just like billions of miscarriages.

Wow. Really? Sponges?

I shall quote myself here to show that I NEVER disrepsected you or any other woman who has had to choose either way, be it natural death or abortion.

Here is where I gave you credit for the strength you had:

Here is where I pointed out that not ALL anencephalic babies are incapable of feeling pain, which death CAN cause. I also pointed out that some people are against barbituates/pain killers, just as you are against abortion. This being against pain medications, be it for natural death or not does NOT imply that I am talking bad about you or ANY other parent that chooses to use pain medicines to ease a newborn's pain due to deadly birth defects. I am just simply giving other perspectives to think about.

Here again is where I show different situations others have chosen.

And, yet again, where I compliment your strength!


Not once did I downtalk anyone. I did give different perspectives, as I also gave out different scenarios on what has happened with other parents. Read it how you will, but I did NOT say ALL babies suffered, nor did I say that abortion is the best way to handle any kind of birth defect. I am prochoice, and will always support ANY choice, be it what you chose to do or what my sister chose to do. I just feel it is important to outline the consequences of any choice. My sister still feels pain and loss of her very wanted child, as does any other woman who chooses to abort due to deformities/conditions incompatible with life. She just has different values. And one of those values is to NOT take the chance of her baby suffering after birth. This does NOT mean ALL babies with deformities/conditions suffer, but some DO. And since she is against narcotics/mind altering drugs (she had the abortion and chose only a local sedative and tylenol), she knew the risk would be higher. She researched her options very carefully, as any person should.