Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The Ashley Treatment (note to teacher: pls do not mark this)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6229799.stmA Seattle family who opted to have radical surgery and estrogen treatments performed on their daughter in order to purposely stunt her growth has recently sparked off debates on ethics. Their daughter, Ashley X. was born with a condition called static encephalopathy. This brain disease causes Ashley to be unable to move her body to sit up, roll, or hold her head up, let alone walk.
The Ashley Treatment, as the controversial procedure has been dubbed, started in 2004 when the then 6-year-old began to show signs of precocious puberty. The family then opted for a complete hysterectomy (excision of the uterus), removal of the breast buds, an appendectomy(excision of the appendix), and aggressive estrogen treatment to advance the onset of puberty in an odd reaction that will likely keep Ashley at her present size of 4'5" and about 65 lbs.Her parents argued that Ashley has no need for her uterus since she will not be bearing children. Removing her uterus will avoid the menstrual cycle and all the bleeding/discomfort/pain/cramps that are so commonly associated with it. They also reasoned that Ashley's small size will purportedly allow her to be lifted by a single person instead of involving a complex system of ropes and pulleys and should also cut down in the likelihood of common illnesses for a person in her condition such as skin sores, bladder infections, and pneumonia.
Most people, from many of the forums I have read about this ethical debate, oppose the surgery. My stand on the Ashley Treatment, however, is that it is ethical. Ashley is already 9 years old and yet cannot move, cannot talk, cannot walk and has very little chance of ever being cured. Her diet would have to be severely restricted to stop her from gaining weight and the associated health issues as she grows due to the lack of exercise, and periods would add yet another difficulty to the parents’ lives, should the surgery not be performed. As such, I feel that the hysterectomy and appendectomy are justified. Also, the possibility of her getting married and having children are extremely low. I personally find it heartwarming that the parents have taken this step to enable them to be responsible for their little girl’s care for the rest of her life without involving strangers or having to put her into care. Although there are protests over Ashley’s rights to life, I would like to say that, Ashley’s parents too, have a right to a proper life as well. If the surgery was not implemented, Ashley would need ever increasing care as she grows up physically. This would be both physically and mentally exhausting for the parents and become nigh on impossible to do for the whole of her life. With the surgery, she can still grow mentally if possible whilst staying small helping the parents to care for her and have some degree of a normal life, she will possibly receive better care and attention because of it.
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feared 3:46 AM