Posted on 01/03/2007 1:14:08 PM PST by Lorianne
SEATTLE — This is about Ashley's dignity. Everybody examining her case seems to agree at least about that.
Ashley is a 9-year-old girl who has static encephalopathy, a severe brain impairment. She cannot walk or talk. She cannot keep her head up, roll over or sit up by herself. She is fed with a tube. Her parents call her "Pillow Angel" because she stays right where they place her, usually on a pillow.
Her parents say they feared that their angel would become too big one day — too big to lift, too big to move, too big to take along on a family outing.
And so they decided to keep her small.
In a highly unusual case that is stirring ethical debate in the medical community and elsewhere, doctors at Seattle Children's Hospital and the parents involved are describing how Ashley has received treatment over the last few years designed to stunt her growth.
The treatment, known as "growth attenuation," is expected to keep Ashley's height at about 4 feet 5 and her weight at about 75 pounds for the rest of her life. Doctors expect her to have a normal lifespan. Had she not been given the treatment, doctors estimate, she would have grown into a woman of average height and weight — about 5 feet 6 and 125 pounds.
The parents' decision has drawn criticism and even outrage from some doctors and caregivers, who say such treatment is a violation of a person's dignity. Some say it's also a violation of the medical oath: First do no harm.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Yeah, a bit inconsistent, what ?
Why can't you just admit, for once, that you're wrong...
PLAYING GOD? Are you freaking kidding me? That argument went out the window the minute man started practicing medicine. We play God EVERY SINGLE DAY and you know it.
By mutilating her for their own convenience? I disagree completely. When they're old, even if she were small, they'd still have a hard time dealing with her. That's when caregivers can help.
I took care of my mother thru 5 years of Alzheimers.At her funeral I remarked about the flower arrangement that the florist asked if I wanted a banner that said something like "Beloved Mother."
My response was, "No. Just, 'Mother'."
Anyone who doesn't understand that, I can't help them with just one additional word. And you sound like someone who would understand.
"If God wanted her small, He'd have made her stay that way."
---
Obviously, from the article, God wanted her to have "...
static encephalopathy [so she] cannot walk or talk ... or keep her head up, roll over or sit up by herself [and to be] fed with a tube.
/s
Thank you! My sister is a joy to have around.
I have no family currently in the military. Does that mean I am not permitted to have an opinion as to the War on Terror?
Typical leftist BS argument.
Why not amputate her arms and legs? Would that not make her even more mobile than her current dwarfed state?
See post 70.
If she had a growth abnormality, either gigantism or wasn't growing tall along with her classmates, her parents could and probably would seek treatment to deal with either of those conditions and no one would see that as a problem.
It is because her parents chose to keep her alive that people are outraged.
Are you that nasty in real life, or does the anonymous part of your name give you more courage?
No, people are outraged because they think they have the moral right to tell others how to live their lives...even if they have NO IDEA what they're talking about.
Nice ad hominem. But no answer to the question posed I see.
As to being nasty, you're the one arguing that removing body parts from disabled people for convenience sake only is somehow ethical. Pot meet kettel.
I'm not telling anybody how to live THEIR lives, merely telling people not to remove body parts from disabled people for the sake of convenience.
Now tell me, would it be ethical to amputate her arms and legs?
the only one who mentioned removing body parts was you.
I am finding that more and more common on the internet... knee jerk reactions, and nasty to boot.
People have been having their kids take growth hormones for probably 20 years now if he/she isn't growing tall enough fast enough.
I, on the other hand, wouldn't have minded having my growth slowed down; I grew really tall really fast and it has caused lifelong problems.
Hildy,
Just 'bless his heart' and be done with him (seems like he needs it blessed and other parts kicked).
How tall are you?
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