Someone who does not want Gods gifts in whatever way they come to them is missing more than the love of their child...IMO. The child on the other hand could be missing everything.

in the case you stated abortion is the only option, if the baby didnt have a fuctioning brain it would die anyway, you cant survive without a functioning brain.

I have to start this with a disclaimer I am not an advocate of abortion. I personally could never have one. But don't you guys think you are being a little harsh? For over 2 years I worked with the developmentally disabled in a hospital/residental care facility. And while everyone that I worked with was precious to me there are hard facts that have to be faced about children that are born with severe birth deffects. Some of these deffects are not able to be cared for at home. Long term facility care is expensive and even with governmental help it doesn't cover the cost of thier care. Then we could discuss quality of life all day, most of the residents where I was employed didn't have any quality of life. They breathed yes but most had no self awareness at all. Is that life? Then there is the harsh fact that some people just aren't capable of the commitment and 24/7 responsibilty such a child consumes. There may be other children in the home that have to be supported and cared for which the disabled child would take away from financially and time wise. I guess what I am saying here is stop and think before you judge. It's easy to say that you would never abort a child you knew would be handicapped but until you look at the realities of the situation you really can't say, it's a matter of walking a mile in someone else's shoes.

Beachbum, only read your reply........in the case of the baby without the function brain, I can understand abortion, kind of (personally not my choice), but where do you draw the line as to how much is too much of a brain developement issue? Mild retardation might be more than a person can handle or Cystic Fybrosis or Muscular Dystrophy or even such a defect as deformed limbs........

There are families out there who would love to be able to care for a special needs child.

As I stated, this is just my opinion. No offense intended.

i agree, but its where you draw the line as eileena said.

It's one of those things where you can't really know till you have it. To me it's not like it's a lock, so why not take the chance? And hey even if it has defects, would come out of it a stronger person I am sure.

I don't know, when I was pregnant with my son, I had some bloodwork done which showed my son might have Downs. After a battery of testing, including 2 amnios, turns out he was fine. But, my doctor told me that if I wanted to have an abortion, I'd have to find another doctor as he wouldn't do it. And up until that point, I had never even thought about abortion. My only thought was learning what I could so that I could take care of a special needs child.

But, I do think that if a fetus is so disabled that the child born would never have any kind of meaningful life that wouldn't be full of never-ending pain, then, yeah, I think I could understand that decision.

http://myplay.com/videos/martina-mcbride/gods-will

If I knew my baby would not develop a functional brain I would prob abort it... not fair to the child. but if he/she just had a mental prob I would still have it.

Does anyone know if they have the technology to tell if the brain is functional?

i have no idea.i think they can tell by mri scans etc, but the baby would have to born i would imagine to show that, i really dont know

I have worked at Easter Seals Society which has a program for early intervention for children with disabilities of all kinds. I have to say that it was a deeply rewarding experience. You see parents there from all sorts... from loving, caring concerned ones to the crack heads. I couldn't imagine loving or wanting my daughter any less if she had a disability. I personally think these children only need more love to succeed. I'm sure there are soon-to-be mothers that would abort or give up their child for adoption just because they have disabilities... it happens. I've met some. But I have to commend the ones that stick it out, love them unconditionally and really work to give their children a full life.

I don't know...

Only tests that I know of are the ones for Down's Syndrome, and that is because of blood work....unless they can see in the ultrasounds that the brain isn't developing correctly.

They use an EEG if the brain is not visiblity getting bigger per an ultrasound