"Torres said the fetus appears to be thriving, but his wife's doctors have told him they know of no cases in which a brain-dead mother with melanoma has delivered a baby.
Could that possibly be because the doctors always pulled the plug before she could?
Just a thought."
No, it's because the body that's nourishing this baby is filled is dead. The organs are not functioning correctly and no matter what the doctors do, the baby is being attacked by poisons. In almost all cases, this does not make for a healthy baby. Having a baby puts a major strain on a healthy body, never mind one ravaged by cancer.
I truly hope this case is the exception, but even if the child does reach 25 weeks, its life will be an awful uphill battle and most likely will never be close to "normal." I hope the family has tons of cash. If not, you and I will be paying one way or another for the millions in medical care.
If there are no known cases where a baby was delivered under these circumstances, on what basis do you make a claim that if it survives it will be in an abnormal condition?
Not necessarily.
Barbie Blodgett and Her BabyOn June 30, 1988, near Yakima, Washington, the car that 24-year old Barbie Blodgett was riding in was struck by a drunk driver. Three months pregnant at the time, she slipped into a persistent coma, and experts believed that she would never regain consciousness, because her cerebrum, the large part of the brain which controls consciousness and voluntary functions, was simply not working at all. She was unable to speak or eat and was fed through a stomach tube.[9]
Other experts predicted grimly that the baby she was carrying would die and/or would worsen her condition to the point of death.
However, her pro-life family maintained hope and continued to pray. And on December 9, 1988, 8-pound Simon Alan Blodgett was born perfectly healthy. Dr. Thomas Benedetti, director of perinatal medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, stated that this was the fourth instance known of a comatose woman giving birth.[9]
The day after the baby was born, Barbara Blodgett recognized her son, Simon, and began to regain consciousness. A month later, she could communicate and feed her newborn. A year later, she was still partially paralyzed and had to communicate via a computer keyboard. But she said that she "hoped to walk and talk before Simon does," and seemed ready to achieve the goals she had set for herself.