Fetal Harvest

Anencephalic Babies Are Now "Wanted"—For Their Organs

Every so often, a proposal is run up the proverbial flagpole that is so outrageous that one is dumbfounded that such an idea could seriously be suggested. A recent proposal out of the UK is one such idea, leaving the reader—to use a term familiar to Brits—"gobsmacked."

The context is the perennial shortage of donor organs, particularly for children. Over 7,000 adults and children are on waiting lists for organs in the UK,¹ while in the U.S., over 2,000 children alone are waiting for organs.² Last year, at least 42 infants were on the waiting list for a heart, an organ in rare supply because the donor must also be a child for the heart to fit. Yet, in the past two...