The family blog
These people are scary.
Parents had doctors alter their daughter's chemistry so she would never physically grow up.
My horridly favorite line:
We learned that accelerating growth is feasible through high-dose estrogen
therapy. This treatment was performed on teenage girls starting in the 60’s and
70’s, when it wasn’t desirable for girls to be tall, with no negative or long
term side effects.
The fact that there is experience with administering high-dose estrogen to limit height in teen-age girls gave us the peace of mind that it was safe—no surprise side effects; furthermore, people found justification in applying this treatment for cosmetic reasons while we were seeking a much more important purpose, as will be detailed below.
It was done "in the 60's and 70's...?" That's a good reason to do something? Ever heard of thalidomide babies?
The general population has a 5% chance of getting appendicitis, so we decided to have her appendix taken out, as well? Hey--lots of people have heart attacks, too--may as well take that out. A large number of women get breast cancer. Take those out...oh, wait...
Furthermore, we’re fortunate to have access to one of the best surgical
facilities and teams at Seattle Children’s Hospital. If we were in a less
developed locale or country with higher risk of surgery, we would have looked at
this part of the analysis differently.
Thank goodness we're in a civilized nation!
At the same time we’re surprised at the volume and magnitude of theGut reaction, perhaps. But, no, I am not thinking of a child who may progress to being "normal." I am thinking of people I worked with at a camp for mentally and physically disabled people. Adults in wheelchairs. Billy, who couldn't talk and carried a rag to wipe drool away from his face. Betty, in her 50's with Down Syndrome and a mastectomy, who sat beside me and patted my head when I had a headache. Adult diapers I've changed. Feeding Grandma. Great-grandma in a nursing home for years with Alzheimers. Shrink any one of them to "improve their quality of life?" I'm surprised these people view their daughter as fit for life.
critical comments. We went carefully through these comments; however, they
seemed to us as gut-feel reactions without much depth or true understanding of
the situation, the treatment, or the motivation behind it, which we hope this
article sheds more light on. It seems that people are thinking of a child who is
mostly normal or who might progress to approach normal.
Furthermore, to put our decision process in perspective, it is not uncommon
for parents with children who have cancer or birth defects/scars to pursue
significantly more intrusive treatment (chemo or radiation therapy) or more
involved surgery (limb amputations or face reconstruction), than what the
“Ashley Treatment” entails.
We're not being as harsh as people who subject their children to chemo are? Their certain alternative is death!
If the concern has something to do with the girl’s dignity being violated,
then I have to protest by arguing that the girl lacks the cognitive capacity to
experience any sense of indignity.
Good logic. She wouldn't know she's being violated, so this is okay. What was that "sexual predator" part under the breast removal section about? And aren't we the nation who cried out in anguish and horror when bodies of our soldiers were mutilated and dragged through foreign streets? They, at that point, lacked the cognitive capacity to experience any sense of indignity. Why did we care? And do we feel the same about Ashley?
...the treatments will endow her with a body that more closely matches her
cognitive state...
Thank you. I'm 5'1". What are you saying about my cognitive state?
Who are these people--these parents, doctors, and ethics committee? They may argue that these measures are preventative--like being vaccinated against polio, measles and tetanus. It's 1:15 a.m. and I can't think of a description for the line--but something inside me is screaming that it's been crossed.
1/19/07 comment:
DR. NORMAN FOST, BIOETHICS, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN:
They used treatments that were not experimental, as people claim. Estrogen
has been around for decades, using it to slow down growth has been done
before...
No kidding. Estrogen's been around for decades? It's good to have an expert opinion on this.
3 comments:
And this, ARG-dear, is why I blog--because if I didn't get these thoughts out, I would have to dismiss them. And if I dismissed them, I would be dismissing pieces of me that make me me.
Oh, wow, my thoughts exactly on the treatment of this poor little girl. Where is the world headed?
~B
Some people seem to be investing in...handbaskets?
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