Today as I continued to look for some information regarding infant tissue and organ donation I stumbled upon a definition of Organ Donation Laws and was extremely upset about what it wrote... I believe that this definition was written approx. 5-10 years ago and opinions may have changed, but at that point there were numerous people who believe the following statement.
"Proponents contend that, because these infants are never conscious, they do not meet the most minimal criteria for becoming a person." West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2
Enough people believed this that they passed a law that organs and tissue could be harvested while anencephalic babies still had a heartbeat and could be deemed "living". It horrifies me that first of all these poor helpless babies could be considered non-human as well as the fact that it would seem ok to harvest from them while they maintained basic human reflexes (breathing, heart beating, etc...) . I have not had the honor of meeting Annabelle yet and do not know how severe her anencephaly is, but from support groups I am on I know that mothers have seen their babies react to external stimuli, some could even eat on their own, and many wail as if in pain at times.
I cannot imagine for one moment that the little being moving, kicking, and squiggling inside me is not human. She has her own heartbeat, her own daily schedule of sleeping and wakefulness, and when we saw her on ultrasound she had the most beautiful features. I have read that in earlier medical books babies with this diagnosis were termed as "monsters", but I know that is the exact opposite of the truth. These babies are pure and innocent and will remain that their entire lives. Annabelle has given me a chance to love her in a way I thought was impossible, and I know others have already been touched by her brief life. I pray that these little ones will be treated with dignity and love, and hope mothers in my position are able to get as much support as I have.
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