Deformed and disabled individuals occupied a peripheral space in each society, including ancient Babylon.  Most abnormal infants did not survive due to the lack of adequate medical care for their serious conditions.18  Others were abandoned upon birth.  In one ritual, the description of which has survived, the owner of the household is required to stand next to a river while reciting an invocation.  Since the abnormal child could bring evil into the home, the owner asked the gods to remove the evil thing.  The ritual involved placing the infant in the river.19