{"id":3940,"date":"2020-09-27T21:32:06","date_gmt":"2020-09-27T20:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/?p=3940"},"modified":"2020-09-27T21:32:06","modified_gmt":"2020-09-27T20:32:06","slug":"are-children-who-are-born-without-a-cerebral-cortex-conscious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2020\/09\/27\/are-children-who-are-born-without-a-cerebral-cortex-conscious\/","title":{"rendered":"Are children who are born without a cerebral cortex conscious?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Anna-Karin Margareta Andersson<\/p>\n

The article highlights an important but surprisingly neglected medical ethical topic: new research suggests that children born without a cerebral cortex are conscious. What types of care should they be provided in order to respect their human rights? This topic caught my attention thanks to Professor Alan Shewmon and colleagues\u2019 pivotal 1999 study<\/a> of such children in the children\u2019s home environment. Never before had the capacities of these children been documented in their home environment. In a familiar environment, supported by family, these children interacted socially and seemed capable of both joy and suffering. Barb Aleman and Bjorn Merker subsequently made similar observations of over 100 children<\/a>. These observations have not remained unchallenged. Critics have argued that the alleged \u201cconscious\u201d behaviour could be merely sophisticated reflexes. The article further explores how this lively and unsettled debate has high ethical stakes also for treatment of children with brain damage due to birth complications, to adults in a \u201cvegetative\u201d state, and to recent successful attempts to partially reanimate dead animal brains isolated from the animal\u2019s cranium. In order to tackle these profound ethical challenges, neuroscientists and philosophers need to engage in cross-disciplinary research. The article is an attempt to contribute to this quest.<\/p>\n

Paper title:<\/strong> Congenitally decorticate children\u2019s potential and rights<\/a><\/p>\n

Author:<\/strong> Anna-Karin Margareta Andersson<\/p>\n

Affiliations:<\/strong> Uit The Arctic University Of Norway, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education<\/p>\n

Competing interests:<\/strong> None<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Anna-Karin Margareta Andersson The article highlights an important but surprisingly neglected medical ethical topic: new research suggests that children born without a cerebral cortex are conscious. What types of care should they be provided in order to respect their human rights? This topic caught my attention thanks to Professor Alan Shewmon and colleagues\u2019 pivotal […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8075],"tags":[7940],"class_list":["post-3940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-disability","tag-neuroethics"],"yoast_head":"\nAre children who are born without a cerebral cortex conscious? - Journal of Medical Ethics blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2020\/09\/27\/are-children-who-are-born-without-a-cerebral-cortex-conscious\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are children who are born without a cerebral cortex conscious? - Journal of Medical Ethics blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Anna-Karin Margareta Andersson The article highlights an important but surprisingly neglected medical ethical topic: new research suggests that children born without a cerebral cortex are conscious. 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