Unpopular opinion: people with anencephaly ought to be born & loved for as long as possible. They deserve palliative care, not murder in the womb. Abortion is not euthanasia.
This little girl is not in agony. She coos and smiles at her mother's touch. She is loved. She wouldn't have known any of that love had she been violently stabbed with a lethal injection and born dead. According to her mom on YouTube she lived for 3 weeks and her family cherished her.
When I say later abortion is not euthanasia, I mean: the children are killed without general anesthesia. We wouldn't even kill a horse or someone on death row this way. Later abortion, even for medical reasons, is horrific violence. The babies are stabbed with an overdose of digoxin or lidocaine. They may be exsanguinated or dismembered alive.
If you want your disabled child to live with dignity and die humanely, with the least suffering possible, then do not abort them. Love them. You will suffer less in the long run knowing you protected them, that you did not pay for their brutal murder.
And for the record, you still have to go through labor when you get a later abortion for fetal anomaly. Unless, of course, you get your child ripped out piece by piece in mangled shreds. The chances of uterine perforation and sepsis from this are extreme.
Disabled children are not "choices". Perinatal hospice is ethical. Murder is not.
Learn more about anencephaly.
For anyone feeling pressured to terminate for medical reasons, I highly recommend
Because the internet is the place for *bizzare* specificity; since you're into neuroanatomy and fiction, can I ask you about anencephaly?
Specifically, I have an OC in a sci-fi work whose whole thing is a skull plate and partial brain implant, without which she loses functions like speech and motor control. She was picked out of the trash as a baby and raised by a cyborg surgeon, hence her improbable surviving and thriving. Her relative frailty (one bonk and there goes the hardware) marks her as a pacifist among an otherwise conflict-hungry cast, though far from timid.
I'm curious how feasible this concept is, SF handwaves notwithstanding? Are there survivable degrees of anencephaly? Moreover, would it be insensitive to cover such a topic or to paint it in such broad strokes?
Thanks for your time.
Wow ok!!! Going back to my hardcore neuroanatomy days.
So brains are A LOT. I'll put this under the cut.
Things I discuss below:
Anencephaly & Mortality
How to Treat Anencephaly (theoretically)
Somewhat "Plausible" Ways to Treat Anencephaly in Sci-Fi
Brain Development Regarding Speech Deficits
Sci-Fi Implants & Disability Discussion
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. I have taken multiple masters-level neuroanatomy classes and I work in healthcare full time as my day job. This is all theoretical and based on my (non-physician) medical knowledge and experience reading and writing sci-fi fantasy. There is no known way to treat anencephaly in real life and it is not survivable. Regarding the disabilities I discuss, please correct me if you see anything wrong! I am by no means a disability expert and am still learning and would love others to elaborate/correct me <3
Basics
So first of all, there are multiple forms of anencephaly. The one I was taught mostly in school (keep in mind I'm not a neuro specialist or a doctor) is the most common type, which is when the entire brain does not form. These babies are often born dead.
Personally I don't know of any cases of any form of anencephaly that have survived more than a few hours post-birth. In no case of anencephaly is it survivable in real life. They all are born dead, or die within the first day of life. Even the "less severe" (as in, some of the brain forms lol) types.
However, since we're talking about magic-y sci-fi brain implants...
How To "Treat" Anencephaly (theoretically)
The reason why I'm struggling to think of how (even with sci-fi magic) this would be treated is because anencephaly occurs super early in pregnancy. I'm talking before you know you're pregnant early.
(If you want to learn more about this you can google neural tube and see how it's formed very early on in pregnancy and what it entails.)
To me, in a sci-fi world, the most plausible way to treat anencephaly and make it a survivable condition would be to catch it during the neural tube formation (which is the first 1-4 weeks after conception) and preventing anencephaly - or at least reducing the effects.
However, even then, I find it extremely unlikely that it would work, or if did work, it would "cure" it so to speak and then you wouldn't need the implants/treatment post-birth.
Somewhat Plausible Sci-fi Treatments
What might be interesting to explore is this: maybe in your fancy sci-fi world, they have a way to test pregnancies in the first 2-4 weeks and knew the baby was developing anencephaly. Then maybe there is a New Fancy Research Treatment that they try out, something that could be injected into the womb or bloodstream to reverse the neural tube malformation.
But, maybe with your character, it almost works, but doesn't. This leaves them with almost a full brain and skull, but with one section that never developed around the anterior parietal area. This would lead to the motor deficits you describe.
So, essentially, what I've done here is I've taken sci-fi medicine and made it so your world can attempt to treat anencephaly and reduce the deficits to be something more aligning with real-life cerebral palsy (CP).
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND NONE OF THIS IS EVEN REMOTELY POSSIBLE LMAO
Note: Another option is that the baby has a "less severe" type of anencephaly (aka, they live for a few hours post-birth, so enough time to be left in a trash can) and the cyborg finds them - but that would require not just an implant, but literally an entirely cyborg brain and skull. To me this is a bit too far of a stretch to be real even in sci-fi, and I would not consider this character to be human if they do not have a human brain, they would essentially be AI with an organic body. So I'll be answering this question following the above plan of a treatment that was ineffective at curing anencephaly, essentially turning it into an alt-CP.
Another note: Cyborg from DC comics is a situation where he has a half-cyborg brain and skull, so it's not totally out of the realm of possibility to do it that way, however that character was a Normal Human who lost part of the brain in an injury, and tbh he has 0 deficits after becoming Cyborg and wouldn't necessarily recommend that if you want to discuss disability in your work. Or if you want any semblance of realism at all (which DC comics does not lol)
Speech & Brain Development
There is one more thing I want to address because, while I definitely can see motor deficits happening from this fictional form of "survivable anencephaly", language and speech is a bit more complicated (and this is literally my area of specialty in my day job).
Now I don't know when you say "loses the ability to speak/motor control" in your ask, if you mean literally the character loses the ability to move their mouth - which is realistic - or if they lose language, which is not as realistic.
If you are born with a brain that has a piece missing, your brain can adapt. (If you want more info, google neural plasticity.)
So if the person lived their life with this chunk of brain missing, yeah they will definitely have deficits, but as they grow, as their brain develops throughout childhood and adulthood, they will likely be able to adapt and their brain can literally wire itself differently than other brains to accommodate as best it can.
This means that the brain will find a way to acquire language, even if the "language centers" of the brain are damaged or not fully formed. It might not be the best ever, there might be language delay, learning disability, adhd, etc. But they will be able to understand language and - if they have the motor capability - to speak.
Cool Side Story: in my neuro class in grad school, we learned about a teenager who had a fast-growing brain cancer that was taking over half of her brain. But she didn't start to have deficits until it was a HUGE and the ended up surgically removing the entire left hemisphere. This is where language is, along with many functions. However, post-surgery, she had almost no deficits. You may be asking, rightfully so: WTF HOW?
Because the brain knew it was being attacked, and had spent the past year while it was being eaten away rewiring itself so that all/most of her functions were now working in the right hemisphere. The brain is amazing and there is SO MUCH we don't know. Obviously this is a rare case, but it's still wild that even one brain can do this.
Now, this case is specifically just the brain, but we're not talking about the skull which would also be impacted for your character. I don't want you to think "oh so this character wouldn't even need an implant?" because 1) there definitely would be deficits and 2) you can't just... not have a chunk of skull and have your brain open to air/scalp/damage.
In terms of the motor deficits you would likely see with this "survivable anencephaly" I would say look at resources regarding cerebral palsy (and to a lesser extent, maybe muscular dystrophy?), and see the kinds of life-long impacts and motor deficits they experience. There are some people with CP who will never be able to walk, there are some who can walk but not speak, there are some you can speak but they drool and their speech is slurred, I even worked with a kid with CP whose only deficit was that his soft palate didn't work so food would go up his nose and his speech sounded nasal -- each person is unique, and there will be some physical limitations that are permanent despite neuroplasticity.
This doesn't mean they can't make progress or learn or adapt in some ways, but essentially I just want to clarify: the deficits are motor. This means the person's language and intelligence is normal, but their motor control - their ability to move their bodies - is essentially disconnected, like a faulty wire. Even if your character had an implant and that implant broke or was taken out, their language and intelligence should be intact. (I say this because it's a common misconception that people with CP are intellectually disabled. This can be true, but it is not always true or even mostly true.)
All that to say: how would a sci-fi implant impact all this? What about disability?
So, you say Baby was picked out the trash by a cyborg surgeon. They would find a baby with part of their head sunken in with a chunk of skull and brain missing. It's definitely plausible that said cyborg would want to save Baby and give them a brain implant.
As someone who does not have CP (or any physical disability) I don't really feel it's my place to say what direction to take here, and how much the implant would "treat/fix" motor deficits caused by a missing brain chunk. At this point, we're talking about something so beyond the realm of real life that there's no way to know what an implant would do for brain damage. This is something we haven't even begun to discuss or research in real life medicine.
Side note: the closest equivalent I cant think of this is cochlear implants. These are implants that are fully inside the head (well, the cochlea specifically) and uses magnets to put an outside piece against the head, which then allows it to work. THESE DO NOT "FIX" SOMEONE'S HEARING. It does not sound like natural sound the way a functioning human ear would hear it. It sounds robotic and mechanical, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between people's voices, or whether what you're hearing is a violin or a cello or guitar. You might not hear someone sneaking up on you, or you might hear water dripping from a faucet and have no idea what that sound is or where it's coming from. These people are still deaf. They still depend on other supports outside of the implant in order to function in a hearing word.
I think you should take this into account when thinking about how this implant will help the character. Maybe the implant can "fix" some motor deficits, but not all of them. Maybe it lets them walk, but with unsteady gait. Maybe it lets them walk and move their arms but their speech is always slurred. Maybe the have shitty grip. Maybe it gives them gross motor but not fine motor skills. Maybe it glitches. Maybe it uses a lot of energy and overheats, or needs to be recharged. Maybe, because of these limitations, this character needs to have canes, walkers, wheelchairs and other supports on hand at any time in case the implant malfunctions, overheats, gets damaged, or needs to be recharged. Maybe the implant does "fix" everything and they seem ~normal~ to an onlooker.
I know there are multiple ways of thinking about sci-fi medicine treating disabilities, and I am limited experience in this area. However I would say: even if the person's motor skills are fully intact with the implant in, it is important to make sure that their disability is discussed and that this does not erase the disability.
I like the idea of exploring how someone who is dependent on a sci-fi implant to then have a different outlook/perspective on how to approach violence or war. Personally I love to see how those who are othered by society and have disabilities navigate fantasy worlds and how they approach violence and problems differently than their privileged and abled counterparts.
As the writer, it will be up to you to do the work, engage with the disability community, do research, and decide all these factors for yourself.
Thanks for the ask, I'm always happy to discuss medicine in fantasy!! Hope this was helpful <3
~ MJ
( tagging a few pals who might find this interesting or have something to contribute! @mr-writes @isabellebissonrouthier @moondust-bard @radley-writes )
The 2,100-year-old mummified remains of what was thought to be a "hawk mummy" actually belong to a stillborn boy who suffered from anencephaly, a rare condition in which part of the brain and skull fails to develop.
"The whole top part of his skull isn't formed," Andrew Nelson, a bioarchaeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Western Ontario, said in a statement. "The arches of the vertebrae of his spine haven't closed. His earbones are at the back of his head" Nelson said.
The mummy is one of only two confirmed mummies from Egypt known to have anencephaly.
The mummy was donated to the Maidstone Museum in the United Kingdom in 1925 by a local physician and has been on display at times. "It was believed to be a votive hawk mummy because of the cartonnage" that the ancient Egyptian put the mummy is in, Nelson told Live Science. Read more.
A television news anchor for WISH-TV News 8 in Indianapolis has rejected abortion for her unborn daughter who was recently diagnosed with a fatal disorder called anencephaly.
In a landmark case, Peru has compensated a woman for denying her a medically indicated abortion. In 2001, K.L. was a 17-year-old who was diagnosed as ha...
One good thing about living a relatively long life is all the memories that bubble up when I least expect them. And lately I’ve been dipping into my vast reservoir of memories like a man overboard in a violent storm.
At times, I envy the man overboard: he sees what’s beneath the storm.
Many years ago, I lived in La Lima, Honduras, the research headquarters of what used to be known as the United…
One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do is boil down my horrific experience with a non-viable pregnancy into a single paragraph that can be neatly dropped into comment sections and the like. There's been a lot of tears and even more anger. I've been doing a deep dive on what my life was like that summer when I was 19 and the more little details I remember, the worse all this gets, as in pesticide exposure, poor diet, and one of the meds I'd forgotten about, a now-discontinued COX-2 inhibitor, turns out to cause midline deformities like cleft palate and heart damage.
My write-up has been pretty effective at making the cultists at St. Shame on You either shut up or realize that abortion isn't a one-size-fits-all experience. I've only had one asshole try to bite me back and she was told, in no certain terms, that no, I was not going to be my son's mommy, ever. That did not mean that he was unwanted, unloved, and undeserving of mercy.
Here's that paragraph. While I wish it could be more detailed, I think it speaks for itself:
"My little guy was missing most of his brain, the top of his skull, and had a trench where his spinal column should have been protected. From 24 weeks until he finally left the hospital in the undertaker's van he'd have had hundreds of seizures a day, a hole carved in his neck for the respirator, and a g-tube. He would have "lived" only to suffer tremendously. I guess I got "lucky" when I had an horrific miscarriage in a public bathroom stall the day before my appointment. I lost him at 16wks, not long before his extremely damaged nervous system would have finished forming, and he was fortunate to have exited this world free of pain. What does it say when a cancer-riddled cat gets a more dignified death than my son would have had? In the states where these laws don't take people like my baby into consideration and expect him and others like him to die miserably, why is that seen as a moral victory?"
