rictus58 Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Is this morally ethical or not? http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/surgery-to-stunt-girls-growth-sparks/20070104173509990018?ncid=NWS00010000000001 CHICAGO (Jan. 4) - In a case fraught with ethical questions, the parents of a severely mentally and physically disabled child have stunted her growth to keep their little "pillow angel" a manageable and more portable size. The bedridden 9-year-old girl had her uterus and breast tissue removed at a Seattle hospital and received large doses of hormones to halt her growth. She is now 4-foot-5; her parents say she would otherwise probably reach a normal 5-foot-6. The case has captured attention nationwide and abroad via the Internet, with some decrying the parents' actions as perverse and akin to eugenics. Some ethicists question the parents' claim that the drastic treatment will benefit their daughter and allow them to continue caring for her at home. The rest of the article is at the link. Now, the surgery apparently does not harm her physically. But medically the surgery is not necessary. Honestly, I can't say one way or the other how ethical this is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 That's sick. I can't believe that's not illegal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 wow... I really don't know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rictus58 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 This is the equivelant of Castration. They have removed from her the one purpose for existing (biologically speaking). Now, chances are she would never be able to procreate anyway. But it seems to me it is mostly a matter of the parents convenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Yeah, but convenience for her parents may also mean higher quality care for her. If she is debilitated for the rest of her life (from the mental disability) then that is no small matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Man that's a tough call to make. I have no idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Surgery doesn't seem warranted at all here. It's just more convenient for the parents, which is a pretty selfish and unjustifiable reason to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rictus58 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 Yeah, but convenience for her parents may also mean higher quality care for her. If she is debilitated for the rest of her life (from the mental disability) then that is no small matter. But thousands of others seem to care for family members with the same condition without limiting physical growth. I can see both sides of the issue. But I think I'm more leaning towards it not being ethically right. What if the girl can physically feel all the pain from the surgery but cannot mentally grasp that someone loves her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 It's not a tough call. It's not impossible to care for a developmentally challenged adult, just harder, and these parents decided to mutilate their child to keep it easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingGibbs Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Man, things like this make me sit back and realize how truly blessed I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 But thousands of others seem to care for family members with the same condition without limiting physical growth. I can see both sides of the issue. But I think I'm more leaning towards it not being ethically right. What if the girl can physically feel all the pain from the surgery but cannot mentally grasp that someone loves her? Well the pain from surgery is fixed by meds. The girl loses no opportunity, yet the parents are able to take better care for her. I am leaning towards thinking this being an ethical act. It's definitely not clear cut unless you want to ignore the benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zguy28 Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I think its unethical to say the least. Its no different than surgically hobbling (cutting the Achilles) a mental patient to stop them from trying escape the asylum. Is that ethical? This will set yet another precedent for eugenics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Well the pain from surgery is fixed by meds. The girl loses no opportunity, yet the parents are able to take better care for her. I am leaning towards thinking this being an ethical act. It's definitely not clear cut unless you want to ignore the benefits. The only ones benefitting here are the parents. It seems like in this day and age parents can't drug up their kids fast enough so long as they don't have to deal with a little adversity. Now we've moved on to cutting off breasts and removing hormones. It's an awful, lazy, selfish trend. I'm not talking out of my elbow here. I have a developmentally delayed child myself. I wrestle with questions like this constantly, but at the end of the day when I look in the mirror I have to admit to myself that making my life easier isn't my top parental priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 at the end of the day when I look in the mirror I have to admit to myself that making my life easier isn't my top parental priority. Good man. What those parents in the OP did was IMO wrong, and whilst I admit I do not have to live or cope with it personally I cannot believe that anyone stepped up to perform the procedure. Or even thought about it in the first place for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsOrlando Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 That's sick. I can't believe that's not illegal. It's not a tough call. It's not impossible to care for a developmentally challenged adult, just harder, and these parents decided to mutilate their child to keep it easier. The only ones benefitting here are the parents. It seems like in this day and age parents can't drug up their kids fast enough so long as they don't have to deal with a little adversity. Now we've moved on to cutting off breasts and removing hormones. It's an awful, lazy, selfish trend.I'm not talking out of my elbow here. I have a developmentally delayed child myself. I wrestle with questions like this constantly, but at the end of the day when I look in the mirror I have to admit to myself that making my life easier isn't my top parental priority. :applause: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 The only ones benefitting here are the parents. It seems like in this day and age parents can't drug up their kids fast enough so long as they don't have to deal with a little adversity. Now we've moved on to cutting off breasts and removing hormones. It's an awful, lazy, selfish trend.I'm not talking out of my elbow here. I have a developmentally delayed child myself. I wrestle with questions like this constantly, but at the end of the day when I look in the mirror I have to admit to myself that making my life easier isn't my top parental priority. You certainly know more about this subject than me, but I think that if it is easier on the parents it can be also easier for the child. I think I have seen you post that you have an autistic child, but from what I know that is not even close to the level that this girl is impaired. What is the child losing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rictus58 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 You certainly know more about this subject than me, but I think that if it is easier on the parents it can be also easier for the child. I think I have seen you post that you have an autistic child, but from what I know that is not even close to the level that this girl is impaired. What is the child losing? What is the child gaining? The only ones who really seem to benefit are the parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 What is the child gaining? The only ones who really seem to benefit are the parents. The fewer resources they spend on logistics the more they can spend on care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zguy28 Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Good man. What those parents in the OP did was IMO wrong, and whilst I admit I do not have to live or cope with it personally I cannot believe that anyone stepped up to perform the procedure.Or even thought about it in the first place for that matter. I'm not surprised. Especially when OB/GYN's suggest abortions to pregnant women if their baby tests positive for possible birth defects such as Down syndrome. Are the mentally retarded or physically handicapped less valuable people? Sacrificed on the altar of convenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I guess my contention is very reliant on the parents taking great care of her from now on. The motive and the actions taken afterward would really determine whether this is ethical or not. For me at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurent Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Sick, sick, sick. I can't quite comprehend how a parent could ever do such a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 You certainly know more about this subject than me, but I think that if it is easier on the parents it can be also easier for the child. I think I have seen you post that you have an autistic child, but from what I know that is not even close to the level that this girl is impaired. We all have our problems, Lib. I'm not exactly those parents but I've got a whole set of problems they don't have to worry about either. I don't know if you can tell but I find the whole concept of 'fixing' one's child extremely offensive. What is the child losing? Good question. I can't answer that. Neither can her parents. Neither can any doctor. Because none of us are her. We can guess, but I wouldn't cut off my child's breasts and chop out her uteris on a guess. To me this shows an unbelieveable lack of respect for this girl's individuality. Who are we to say that just because she won't live the adult life you or I will that her adulthood is therefore worthless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rictus58 Posted January 5, 2007 Author Share Posted January 5, 2007 for What it's worth, here is a link to a blog the parents created http://ashleytreatment.spaces.live.com/blog/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ntotoro Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Sick ****s. There's really no other way to put it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 Should they surgically amputate the child's arms so she doesn't knock things down if she thrashes about? And she would be much easier to hold and cuddle. Maybe they should remove her tongue and vocal chords so that her strange nonverbal sounds don't disturb others during family outings. She'll never be able to talk anyway. . . .Talk about the proverbial slippery slope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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