[GalacticGal]

I just recently redrafted a story, and in so doing, ended up leaving out several chapters from the rough draft. Considering that these 'left out' chapters are starting to hound me (the rough draft was such a nag, until I got it finished and the redrafted version was no different) I started pondering the situation, wondering if what I have might make a potential sequel?

Which led me to this question: Is it safe, viable even, for a woman to use the transporter while pregnant? What, if any, damage might the fetus/embryo suffer, if Mom used it in the very early stages when she was unaware of her status?

Now, I realize we aren't terribly close in real life to using this means of getting from one place to another, so that it is all conjecture at this point, but that is what defines Science Fiction, right? So, I would be grateful for any and all feedback on this matter. Thank you, in advance.

[jespah]

Pros and cons, pick whatever you'd like to emphasize.

It's safe/pro –

• More than once, two people have been transported on the same pad, and without any ill effects. Therefore, two people would be on the same pad, and so that should work.
• The transporter (maybe) works on a pattern held by the computer which knows where all of the pieces of a transported person are supposed to be, and then extrapolates those pieces to the destination, in the proper sequence and location. Hence uterus, placenta, ovaries, etc., and any of their contents should be as movable as the contents of a transported person's brain, stomach, etc.

It's unsafe/con –

• If there is a plus/minus acceptable error rate of, say, 1/1000th of 1% of a person's structure, e. g. if one skin cell out of 100,000 is out of place, that's considered a victory, that's fine for a person with billions of cells. But it's not so fine for a blastula or gastrula of less than 10,000 cells in size. This would be at barely the embryo stage, e. g. Mom conceives at 10 PM and then takes the transporter at 8 AM the following morning. However, a tiny blastula in particular is not too differentiated in terms of cell specialization. So a moved cell might not be a problem, although a missing cell might be much more of an issue.
• For very tiny embryos, a little trauma can be devastating. Think of what happens with fetal alcohol syndrome and the like. It seems to be a lot worse for the developing fetus than if it's later in the pregnancy (although it's not so fantastic then, either). This can also be analogized to fetal neural tube defects like spina bifida – when the spinal cord is just being developed, a defect is often right at the top, which can be really horrific, e. g. complete below the neck paralysis, whereas the later in the pregnancy it happens, the more the spinal cord is developed, and the defect tends to be lower, so a child with spina bifida who gets it later in a pregnancy is more likely to have the use of his or her arms.

Anyway, that's what I've got. In my own fan fic, I have a pregnant woman who goes through a temporal transporter (meant to be like a time portal) and comes through it okay, as does her baby. Not that that is applicable to you, but that happens to be the direction that I, personally, went in.

[GalacticGal]

jespah, on 18 February 2012 - 06:31 PM, said:

Pros and cons, pick whatever you'd like to emphasize.

It's safe/pro –

• More than once, two people have been transported on the same pad, and without any ill effects. Therefore, two people would be on the same pad, and so that should work.
• The transporter (maybe) works on a pattern held by the computer which knows where all of the pieces of a transported person are supposed to be, and then extrapolates those pieces to the destination, in the proper sequence and location. Hence uterus, placenta, ovaries, etc., and any of their contents should be as movable as the contents of a transported person's brain, stomach, etc.

It's unsafe/con –

• If there is a plus/minus acceptable error rate of, say, 1/1000th of 1% of a person's structure, e. g. if one skin cell out of 100,000 is out of place, that's considered a victory, that's fine for a person with billions of cells. But it's not so fine for a blastula or gastrula of less than 10,000 cells in size. This would be at barely the embryo stage, e. g. Mom conceives at 10 PM and then takes the transporter at 8 AM the following morning. However, a tiny blastula in particular is not too differentiated in terms of cell specialization. So a moved cell might not be a problem, although a missing cell might be much more of an issue.
• For very tiny embryos, a little trauma can be devastating. Think of what happens with fetal alcohol syndrome and the like. It seems to be a lot worse for the developing fetus than if it's later in the pregnancy (although it's not so fantastic then, either). This can also be analogized to fetal neural tube defects like spina bifida – when the spinal cord is just being developed, a defect is often right at the top, which can be really horrific, e. g. complete below the neck paralysis, whereas the later in the pregnancy it happens, the more the spinal cord is developed, and the defect tends to be lower, so a child with spina bifida who gets it later in a pregnancy is more likely to have the use of his or her arms.

Anyway, that's what I've got. In my own fan fic, I have a pregnant woman who goes through a temporal transporter (meant to be like a time portal) and comes through it okay, as does her baby. Not that that is applicable to you, but that happens to be the direction that I, personally, went in.

I appreciate the feedback! Yours is closer to my own thinking in the matter. I'm not inclined to have anything awful happen, should I go ahead and walk down this path. It was just something that popped up at the time and demanded my attention. I also posted a similar query over at Trekspace, that generated a lively debate. Lots of responses, at least, and varying opinions to consider. So, thank you for adding yours to the pot. I have lots to contemplate. :-)