A Seattle hospital acknowledged breaking state law when doctors performed a hysterectomy on a severely developmentally disabled girl whose parents have pursued medical treatments to stunt her growth, making her easier to care for.
Ashley, a nine-year-old girl is suffering from severe brain impairment called static encephalopathy, an unusual brain condition that can never be improved, which means she cannot walk, talk, keep her head up in bed or swallow food and has a mental ability of a three month old baby.
In order to improve her quality of life, her parents injected her with hormonal doses that impeded her physical growth. They have also gone to the extent for surgery to block breast growth and had her uterus and appendix removed.
The hospital’s ethics committee supported the treatment, which included hormone therapy, but noted before the surgeries that court review would be required.
A lawyer for the girl’s parents disagreed, saying the state law did not apply in Ashley’s case, and the hospital performed the procedures without court permission.
Dr. David Fisher, the hospital’s medical director said,
We deeply regret that a court order was not obtained and that an independent third party was not sought to represent Ashley. We take full responsibility for the miscommunication between the ethics committee and the treating physicians. We have introduced new safeguards so that procedures requiring a court order will have one obtained before they begin.
However, the couple has defended their stance by saying that it would be the only solution ‘in their little girl’s best interest’.
I guess there is no point in arguing the case. The parents have done it not for their own expediency but for the sake of their ‘Pillow Angel’ as they call her. Since, she’s never going to improve and that she will have intellectual attributes of a baby then there’s no harm in limiting her physical growth as well. Thus, the decision about treatment should be left completely to the parents.
