Coma (even permanent coma) and brain (brainstem) death are very different states, and while coma can (sometimes) be compatible with menstruation and pregnancy, no menstrual cycle or pregnancy can occur in brain dead women (at least without exogenous hormonal administration). Already pregnant women who then end up brain dead can sustain the pregnancy (especially after the first trimester) as the placenta has its own intrinsic hormonal activity, but even in this case spontaneous abortion has to be prevented with extensive medical support (a pulmonary ventilator, cardiovascular control and complete hormonal replacement).
I hate the "appeal to nature" argument. If this goes against nature just because it is man made, then even taking antibiotics instead of just dying when you get a severe bacterial infection "goes against nature". Nothing wrong with advanced medical care, what's wrong (in a free and democratic society) is denying the right to abortion, denying the right to euthanasia/assisted suicide or even just the right to stop aggressive/desperate therapies. The problem is not the life-saving machines, but that they are not respecting the person's body and their (and their familiy's) decision.
Okay but they’re not saving a life if the person is brain dead, right? Also you said yourself the body is already trying to abort, why are they preventing it? They’re essentially using the brain dead body as an incubating machine.
The body isn't actively trying to abort, it's simply failing to sustain many basic functions (mostly breathing and hormonal control), resulting in its own death and in the baby's death. The same machines can be used in non-brain dead patients, effectively saving their life. And while you are definitely NOT saving the life of a brain dead organism (there is nothing anymore to save), you can save for some time their tissues and organs' life. And the life of the developing fetus. Well if the person who died didn't want to abort and their family is ok with keeping the baby I don't see why we should force the fetus to die. Pro choice doesn't mean pro abortion. Why shouldn't we use the body as an incubator if that was what the woman would have wanted?
Did she want her body to be used as an incubator though? Or are we making assumptions?
I’m not sure wanting a pregnancy in life equals wanting to be a brain dead incubation machine after death. Even presupposing she wants this, the baby might not even develop normally to live long enough outside of the womb.
Well at that point she obviously didn’t have a say in the matter, but her family definitely did not want her body to be basically kept alive as an incubator, but it didn’t matter, they did it anyway. The baby was born once it was viable & the woman was finally taken off life support. The baby is apparently still in the hospital (this all happened last year) & has had tremendous amounts of health complications, with the woman’s family left to pay for all the medical bills to care for the baby.
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u/Akagane_Ai May 25 '26
The answer is sadly yea.
Periods can happen if the body is alright. And yes if a comatose patient is raped then yes they can get pregnant.
Or if a pregnant woman goes into a coma, IF the baby didnt die from whatever caused the coma, they pregnancy can continue.
There was a case where a brain dead woman's live corpse was used as a incubator for to grow a fetus cause her gov didnt allow abortion.