"the ashley treatment"

I was reading this article on cnn.com about the parents consented to sterilizing their daughter to keep her growth at a certain height and weight due to caregiver responsibilities. I'm not sure where I stand on this issue. There are a number of statements in the article that raised questions for me.

""Growth retardation is not a substitute for adequate home aides and home assistance.""

So what would be an adequate reason for growth retardation? Isn't this just the opposite of those parents who put their children through medical procedures to make them taller? I mean, seriously, nobody has a problem with that, right? It's for the good of the child to make them taller, right? Well, why isn't it for the good of the child to not grow anymore?

""The parents are not seeing the potential of the child; they are seeing a baby," says Rader. "People with disabilities have to look at the potential of our lives: of available new technology, new equipment, medical advances. Things can change so quickly now."" (this is a statement made by another disabled individual)

Okay, so, like.....her parents aren't able to ask her, maybe you can? On the other hand, medical science is changing quickly and it's amazing to find that where hope was lost it can now be found.

""Adults can consent. But for a child, we're making decisions for them and hoping in our heart of hearts we are making the right decisions,""

Don't we do this in society (and those of you who are parents at home) for pretty much, well, everything (when you can vote, drive, drink, etc.)? How does this statement contribute to the argument? Duh.

Finally, their main reason for doing this is the caregiving aspect. She's 6 months mentally, she has to wear a diaper, they have to feed her, she can't bathe herself, etc. The bigger she gets, the more she weighs and the more they cannot help her as they age.

Which begs the real questions: Why don't we have an adequate infrastructure to support people who are faced with long term care issues and why do we have to get to a point where we're even considering this as an option?

Update: "We hope that by now it is clear that the “Ashley Treatment” is about improving Ashley’s quality of life and not about convenience to her caregivers. Ashley’s biggest challenge is discomfort and boredom and the “Ashley Treatment” goes straight to the heart of this challenge. It is common for Ashley to be uncomfortable or to be bored."

My questions still stand.

Posted by jennj at March 12, 2008 05:31 PM