This article discusses whether a brain-dead pregnant woman should be forced to be used as an incubator for the life of her unborn child, and how the issues of dignity and abortion should be viewed in this situation.
Many years ago, when I was in college, I took a course called Bioethics. The course aimed to address a number of bioethical issues that arise in contemporary society, including abortion, followed by a discussion of brain death and dignity. There was an interesting story that was covered in the course: what judgment should be made when a pregnant woman becomes brain dead. At the time, I thought it was very unlikely to happen, and I thought it was simply interesting because I thought it was a problem that could only be imagined to apply the facts we were learning rather than a real event. But the reality was different.
On November 14, 2013, a child was born at the Debrecen National Hospital in Hungary, a child born to a brain-dead mother who was fighting for her life, an event that became a big deal and touched many people. On the other hand, on January 24, 2014, a U.S. District Court in Texas ruled to stop life-prolonging treatment for a woman who was brain-dead during pregnancy. This was the result of a lawsuit won by the woman’s family against the hospital. While these brain-dead mothers and fetuses may seem unlikely to happen, they are certainly real. Furthermore, these issues are highly controversial because they involve the dignity of a brain-dead pregnant woman and the abortion of her unborn child.
When dealing with any issue, it’s important to understand what the core subject of the issue is, so before discussing the answer to this question, we need to talk about what brain death is. Currently, South Korea legally recognizes two conditions as death. One is cardiac death, which we can easily accept, i.e. the heart is no longer beating, and the other is brain death, in which the entire brain is damaged, especially the brain stem, which is the life-sustaining center. When the brain stem is damaged, vital functions such as breathing, maintaining body temperature and blood pressure stop, leading to cardiac death without medical assistance. People often confuse brain death with a vegetative state, in which a person is in a coma because their cerebral function is impaired, but because their brain stem is intact, they can still breathe and have a heartbeat, and there is a small chance that they may regain consciousness. Brain death, on the other hand, if the diagnosis is correct, is unlikely to result in a return to consciousness. Therefore, brain dead people are treated as deceased and can donate their organs, whereas patients in a vegetative state cannot donate their organs because they have a chance of coming back to life. In other words, brain death is not the same as cardiac death, but it is definitely death. A brain-dead body would then be considered a body that is still warm.
If brain death is recognized as death, what about the fetus? In reality, the chances of a brain-dead pregnant woman’s fetus surviving are very small. However, as mentioned above, there are cases where they have survived, so this issue must be addressed. The question of whether or not abortion is wrong and whether or not it should be allowed has been debated since time immemorial. And it can seem even more complicated when someone who is in favor of euthanasia is against abortion and vice versa. However, the question is not whether abortion is ethically possible, but whether the life of the fetus should be respected more than the dignity of the pregnant woman’s death, and framing the issue this way can help the discussion flow more smoothly.
In conclusion, there is no reason why the life of a fetus should be treated with more respect than the death of a pregnant woman. Let’s look at why. Basically, in any society, the use of a dead body is taboo. When it comes to what happens to the body after the person dies, that is, the funeral, we basically try to follow what the person decided in life. Anatomy classes and organ donations that use cadavers don’t happen without the consent of the person or their family before they die. Considering the number of people who could be saved simply by research or organ donation, shouldn’t this be a necessity, not a choice? Why does this require consent? The answer lies in the idea that a body should not be viewed as dead meat, but should be treated with a certain amount of dignity while still alive. If we look at this issue through this lens, forcing a pregnant woman’s brain-dead body to be used for the life of her unborn child is no different than treating a human body as an incubator, and is the same as forcing everyone to donate their bodies. Therefore, there are two possible solutions to this problem.
The first is to follow the wishes and instructions of the person’s loved ones in case the person becomes brain dead or a vegetative state. The court decision mentioned in the second paragraph helped the court make its decision because the woman had requested euthanasia in case she became brain dead. Similarly, just as you can donate your body if you consent to it while you’re alive, it’s up to you to use your body for the benefit of the fetus in your womb. In this way, the decision about what to do with your brain-dead body is best made by you.
The second is in the case of a person who is brain-dead without any living wishes. If the person’s thoughts are unknown, the choice is left to those left behind. In this case, their decision may depend on the circumstances of the family left behind, as opposed to the actual wishes of the person. Therefore, in these cases, we need a method that is universally applicable to all. In my opinion, forced use of a brain-dead body is against human dignity, and therefore forced prolongation of life is not right. Stories of brain-dead mothers giving birth to children and dying of cardiac arrest may be touching because of the greatness of motherhood, but a brain-dead person is already incapable of feeling motherhood.
The second solution may be offensive because it involves my personal opinion, but the most important thing is the person’s will, so the ideal solution would be for everyone to think about what they would do if they were brain dead and pregnant, and to tell their loved ones or leave a note. The only thing you really need to worry about is your body being used against your will.
