Zika virus has been linked to recent cases of abnormally small heads
SAO PAULO, Brazil
(CNA/EWTN News)
Caption: Ana Carolina Caceres.
Since the Zika virus outbreak in the Americas, one woman born with microcephaly, which is suspected to be linked to Zika, has said that what’s needed for those with the condition is assistance, not abortion.
Ana Carolina Caceres, a Brazilian journalist, told the BBC’s Ricardo Senra that microcephaly “is a box of surprises. You may suffer from serious problems or you may not. So I believe that those who have abortions are not giving their children a chance to succeed.”
Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, has been linked to recent cases of microcephaly, a disorder characterized by abnormally small heads and delayed brain development. Since October 2015 Brazil has had more than 3,600 suspected cases, and 404 confirmed cases, compared with 150 cases throughout 2014.
The increase in microcephaly is only “strongly suspected” of being linked to the Zika outbreak, according to the World Health Organization.
Brazil’s ministry of health has recommended that women in the path of the Zika outbreak delay pregnancy for the time being, prompting several groups to renew a push for access to contraception and abortion. The health minister said Brazil would have a “damaged generation” because of microcephaly.
Caceres told the BBC she would respond by saying, “What is damaged is your statement, sir.”
She called herself “a fulfilled, happy woman” even though doctors told her parents she would never walk or talk and would be in a vegetative state until she died.
The 24-year-old decided to tell her story to the BBC to spread awareness that a microcephaly diagnosis should not be a death sentence. “I survived, as do many others with microcephaly. Our mothers did not abort. That is why we exist.”
While acknowledging the problems of microcephaly: high hospital bills, frequent operations, and suffering seizures which were managed with medication, Caceres emphasized that people with the condition can lead full lives.
Today she is a college graduate, a journalist, a blogger, and the author of a book about living with microcephaly. She decided to become a writer to “be a spokeswoman for microcephaly.”
She knows she has been luckier than some, but when she heard of the push to legalize abortion because of the Zika outbreak, she “felt offended and attacked.”
“The most important thing is access to treatment: counselling for parents and older sufferers, and physiotherapy and neurological treatment for those born with microcephaly.”
She recommended that mothers and expectant mothers get to know mothers of children with microcephaly. “People need to put their prejudices aside and learn about this syndrome.”
