However, this proposal has been criticized on the basis that confirming neocortical death by PET scan may risk indeterminacy. Pregnancy termination
Anencephaly can be diagnosed before delivery with a high degree of accuracy. Although anencephaly is a fatal condition, the option of abortion is dependent on the abortion laws in the state. According to a 2013 report, 26% of the worlds population reside in a country where abortion is generally prohibited. In 2012, Brazil extended the right of abortion to mothers with anencephalic fetuses. This decision is, however, receiving much disapproval by several religious groups. Legal proceedings
The case of baby Theresa was the beginning of the ethical debate over anencephalic infant organ donation. The story of baby Theresa remains a focus of basic moral philosophy. Baby Theresa was born with anencephaly in 1992. Her parents, knowing that their child was going to die, requested that her organs be given for transplantation. Although her physicians agreed, Florida law prohibited the infants organs from being removed while she was still alive. By the time she died nine days after birth, her organs had deteriorated past the point of being viable. United States uniform acts
The Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) is a model bill, adopted by many US states, stating that an individual who has sustained either 1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions or 2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead.
In regards to anencephaly, those who oppose organ donation argue that it could open the door for involuntary organ donors such as an elderly person with severe dementia. Another point of contention is the number of children who would actually benefit. There are discrepancies in statistics; however, it is known that most anencephalic children are stillborn.Proposals have been made to bypass the legal and ethical issues surrounding organ donation. These include waiting for death to occur before procuring organs, expanding the definition of death, creating a special legal category for anencephalic infants, and defining them as non-persons.In the United Kingdom, a child born with anencephaly was reported as the countrys youngest organ donor. Teddy Houlston was diagnosed as anencephalic at 12 weeks of gestation. His parents, Jess Evans and Mike Houlston, decided against abortion and instead proposed organ donation. Teddy was born on 22 April 2014, in Cardiff, Wales, and lived for 100 minutes, after which his heart and kidneys were removed. His kidneys were later transplanted into an adult in Leeds. Teddys twin, Noah, was born healthy. Brain death
There are four different concepts used to determine brain death: failure of heart, failure of lungs, whole brain death, and neocortical death.Neocortical death, similar to a persistent vegetative state (PVS), involves loss of cognitive functioning of the brain. A proposal by law professor David Randolph Smith, in an attempt to prove that neocortical death should legally be treated the same as brain death, involved PET scans to determine the similarities.