Wednesday, January 3, 2007

The Ashley Treatment, aka Eugenics

Meet Ashley, a nine-year-old disabled girl who's parents have had hormone surgery performed on her so that she will not grow past her 4 ft 5 in, 75 lb frame, even though she has a normal life expectancy but the brain capacity of an infant. As part of her "treatment" she has had a hysterectomy, high-dose estrogen treatment and removal of her breast buds. Doctors have diagnosed her condition as “static encephalopathy of unknown etiology”. In layman's terms it means her mental and motor skills have never developed. All this her parents claim is for Ashley's benefit and not their own ease or convenience. The family has refused to disclose their names, only stating that they are both "college-educated professionals". Read more here and here, and her parents blog here.
Even if her parents intention is solely for Ashley's benefit, something still rings me as morally lacking here.