A mother whose son survived despite being born with almost no brain has joined forces with parliamentarian Lord Shinkwin, campaigning for a change in the law on disability abortion, it was reported in April.
Shelly Wall, 45, believes all lives should be valued and respected equally. She was told five times to abort Noah, who developed congenital hydrocephalus at birth, caused by spina bifida. He was born with only 2% of his brain.
But Noah survived the odds.
After he was born, doctors performed emergency surgery to close the opening at the bottom of his spine and to drain fluid from his empty brain cavity. Amazingly, Noah's brain developed ‘beyond all expectation’, with brain scans showing its development to 80% of normal capacity.
He is now five years old, and despite being wheelchair-bound due to spina bifida, he is happy, chatty and popular. He can count to ten, is learning to read and write, and interacts socially with other children at his local primary school. Earlier this year, Channel 5 broadcast a documentary following Noah’s story: ‘The Boy Who Grew A New Brain’.
Last month, Lord Shinkwin’s Abortion (Disability Equality) Bill, which aimed to reduce the limit for disability abortion to 24 weeks, was defeated in the House of Lords.
