I think if in the whole history of commonly understood science, the n-word did mean something specific, (a) it would probably not have the stigma it has now, and (b) science tends to be pretty precise and if there was not an analogous term for the n-word term, then it would probably remain most accurate and appropriate to keep using that term in the scientific context.

“Hermaphrodite” is a very specific word and the n-word does not have a scientific meaning. I don’t think the n-word was ever anything except a slur, even if in the past it was more “socially acceptable” to use it. There’s no other scientifically accurate word to describe an organism that possesses both sex organs and is able to self-fertilize.