what do y'all make of this "myrickal" baby?

I don't think this one has any quality of life. They seem to be intent on keeping it alive to prove some sort of point.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMlVNFpzKNI

D: That baby is freaking creepy. Srsly. That is going to haunt my nightmares.

The baby is creepy and his mother doesn't look quite right. That being said, the only "miracle" going on in this case is medical science.

Breeders are already brainless so it stands to reason they can and will give birth to brainless babies

I'm guessing they got plenty of advance notice through tests that this baby would be severely damaged.

Why, then, force it to be born? Will it have a fulfilling life? It doesn't have a brain, for God's sake. You can see its eyes and mouth are flickering and twitching on what appears to be kind of an automatic level---there isn't a person in there. And it gets doped up with 12 medicines a day?

Would be more merciful to let it expire.

I heard about this years ago. Makes me angry, to say the least.

The child can't THINK, see, hear, or anything. The only thing it has working is perhaps part of a brain stem, which in terms of "biological functions", it's all you need to live. But he has the mental capacity of a SPONGE. Yes, a SPONGE. And of course, he has seizures. But just because he is like a sponge, doesn't mean he can't feel pain. I'm sure it must hurt everyday to have seizures...you don't need much of a brain to feel that.

That moo makes me angry, for putting him through that, while making it sound "noble". It's not. It's a waste of medical resources and it's hurting him. Sometimes death ISN'T the worst thing in the world. Would have been merciful to let him go peacefully instead of spending all that money, dragging him everywhere, and subjecting the family to that. You're just dragging out the tragedy over time.

Speaking from personal experience, I know someone who had such a child. She had 1/3 of her brain though, but she was at about the same mental state as this infant. She is 10 now (10!!!). Still can't do anything for herself, no thinking, no voluntary movement, nothing. Mom had her even when she could have had it aborted instead of unloading the burden onto everyone else, including herself. It's sick.

Of course though, if I say anything bad, people tell me I'm being "cruel" because this is actually noble? No, it's really not. It's really, really not.

I remember a similar case back in 2009. Kid born with naught but a brain stem...mother was outed for screwing her church leader (some Christian group). She refused to abort and even blogged about her miracle horror. Something Awful got hold of it and lulz ensued.

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3121857&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1

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michaela

"A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt, will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter." -Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal

Poor kid. That's no way to live. His brain is keeping the lights on, but not only is there nobody home, there's no doors for anyone to COME home. He responds to stimuli, and I respectfully disagree with those whose approach to such cases is, "Well, he's not in any pain, so what's the problem with the situation?". If he has a brainstem, he can feel pain. I'm sure those seizures are no picnic. There will never be any development for that kid, either. His brain may manage to make his body bigger, but he won't ever be cognizant of anything. What a grim, expensive future. I hope his parents don't try to send him to school. School districts don't need to be saddled with that kid. Perfect example of how the students who produce the least usually cost the most.

That's a tragedy. So selfish to be keeping that poor thing alive at all costs.