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Ashley TreatmentWhy should parents have the right to make a completely life altering decision for their child? The topic of growth attenuation is being argued ethically between parents and doctors. Growth attenuation is a new procedure used to stop the growth of a child. It has only been used once and the parents of this child are being confronted with many ethical questions. The parents and doctors have many reasons to support the decision they made for their daughter, but the negative outcomes outweigh the positive reasons they provide. People argue that this procedure is best for the child, but they have no idea how it will affect the child later in life.
Growth attenuation is a new procedure used on disabled children. In this procedure, the growth of a child is stopped. The child would then be that size for the rest of his or her life. Also, a hysterectomy is performed on a girl along with the removal of her breast buds. This procedure has only been used once so far. It was used on a severely disabled and mentally impaired young girl named Ashley. Matthew Liao, Julian Savulescu, and Mark Sheehan note in their article that Ashley is a nine year old from Seattle, Washington. She was born with a condition called static encephalopathy. This condition is a sever brain impairment that leaves Ashley unable to walk, talk, eat, sit up, or roll over (Liao, Savulescu, & Sheehan 16). Ashley’s parents are faced with a whirl wind of ethical questions about the procedure they used on their girl.
A big controversy about this procedure was the performance of a hysterectomy and removal of breast buds. According to an article by Sarah Shannon and Terasa Savage, Shannon says there are reasons why these procedures were necessary. One reason for the hysterectomy is because the body is exposed to high estrogen levels which speed up the puberty process. Another reason for the hysterectomy is that it will stop menstruation which can cause skin breakdown and discomfort later in life. The last reason for the hysterectomy is it will abolish the need for pap smears as the girl grows. The breast buds were removed at the same time as the hysterectomy. This was done, because Ashley’s family has a history of large breasts, and large breasts could be potentially painful later in life. Savage argues against Shannon’s assumptions by saying that the risks of a hysterectomy outweigh the potential for cramps and other non threatening conditions. No one knows if she will have pain with her cramps, but if she did they could be treated with hormones like other women are. If all the pain and problems cannot be controlled then later in life a hysterectomy could be performed. Until one knows what the situation is like nothing should be done. Removing the breast because large breasts run in the family is not a good reason. The size of her breasts cannot be pre-determined. She could have had small to normal size breasts which would not be painful (Shannon & Savage 2). The performance of a hysterectomy and removing the breast buds on such a small girl is an ethical debate. Something could have gone wrong during these procedures that could have had a serious impact on Ashley, but along with these procedures the parents of Ashley also face many ethical issues on whether or not stopping the growth of Ashley was the right thing to do or not. The parents of Ashley have reasons why they choose to stop their daughter’s growth.
Ashley’s parents say the reason that they used growth attenuation on their precious daughter was, because it will make caring for her easier in the years to come. According to the article by Bersani, et al., the parents of Ashley used growth attenuation to “minimize the likelihood of a future out-of-home placement by maximizing the future comfort of this child and ensuring a manageable care-giving burden for parents who wanted very much to maintain their daughter in their loving environment (Bersani et al. 351).” Ashley’s parents argue that they will be able to provide Ashley with the best care if she remains small and fragile. They say that they will be able to reposition her more often to prevent bed sores and other infections that come from being bed ridden. It is true that infections do arise from being bed ridden, but as good parents there should be nothing stopping them from giving her the best care she needs. It may require a little more effort, but Ashley’s parents said they would do anything for their daughter (Shannon & Savage 2). Doing some things such as transporting her will be easier, because she will be light and easy to lift. Although with the right training, it is easy to move people of any size. There are many things that were not taken into consideration about Ashley’s life when she is older.
Ashley will have many struggles in life that could have possibly been easier if she was able to grow and develop properly. When Ashley becomes older, she is going to be hard to handle, because she will be frail. It will become hard to lift her without hurting her small frail body. Other things such as having her sit up, bathe, or even eat at a table will be harder with Ashley being so small. If could have been easier for Ashley to do some little things such as just sit up if she could have developed normally. Her developed bones and muscles could have helped her be able to sit up and do other things with little assistance. Ashley will also have to deal with the emotional hardships that come with being a child sized adult. She will never be treated her own age. This could be very hard to deal with emotionally.
Growth attenuation is suppose to make it possible for disabled children to live at home with their families instead of in a group home with adult strangers. Growth attenuation has been used on a girl named Ashley, whose parents claim that because of this procedure they will be able to keep their daughter at home with them. They say that she will be easier to care for since she is so small. Critics of this procedure say that it is unethical to make this kind of life-altering decision for a child. The risks of this procedure are still unknown, and it is not right to stop the growth of a child without even knowing if there could be negative health outcomes later in life. One can only hope that parents of disabled children seriously think about all of the negative possibilities that their child could face before they decide to go through with such a dramatic life altering procedure.
Works Cited
Shannon, Savage, and Teresa Savage. “The Ashley Treatment: Two Viewpoints.” Pediatric Nursing 33.2 (2007) 175-8. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., SD. 13 February 2008 .
Liao, S. Matthew, Julian Savulescu, and Mark Sheehan. “The Ashley Treatment: Best Interests, Convenience, and Parental Decision-Making.” Hastings Center Report 37.2 (2007): 16-20. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., SD. 13 February 2008 .
Bersani, Hank, et al. “Unjustifiable Non-Therapy: Response to the Issue of Growth Attenuation for Young People on the basis of Disability.” American Association on Intellectual and developmental Disabilities 45.5 (2007): 351-353. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of South Dakota, ID Weeks Lib., SD. 13 February 2008 .
Why should parents have the right to make a completely life altering decision for their child? The topic of growth attenuation is being argued ethically between parents and doctors. Growth attenuation is a new procedure used to stop the growth of a child. It has only been used once and the parents of this child are being confronted with many ethical questions. The parents and doctors have many reasons to support the decision they made for their daughter, but the negative outcomes outweigh the positive reasons they provide. People argue that this procedure is best for the child, but they have no idea how it will affect the child later in life.
Growth attenuation is a new procedure used on disabled children. In this procedure, the growth of a child is stopped. The child would then be that size for the rest of his or her life. Also, a hysterectomy is performed on a girl along with the removal of her breast buds. This procedure has only been used once so far. It was used on a severely disabled and mentally impaired young girl named Ashley. Matthew Liao, Julian Savulescu, and Mark Sheehan note in their article that Ashley is a nine year old from Seattle, Washington. She was born with a condition called static encephalopathy. This condition is a sever brain impairment that leaves Ashley unable to walk, talk, eat, sit up, or roll over (Liao, Savulescu, & Sheehan 16). Ashley’s parents are faced with a whirl wind of ethical questions about the procedure they used on their girl.
A big controversy about this procedure was the performance of a hysterectomy and removal of breast buds. According to an article by Sarah Shannon and Terasa Savage, Shannon says there are reasons why these procedures were necessary. One reason for the hysterectomy is because the body is exposed to high estrogen levels which speed up the puberty process. Another reason for the hysterectomy is that it will stop menstruation which can cause skin breakdown and discomfort later in life. The last reason for the hysterectomy is it will abolish the need for pap smears as the girl grows. The breast buds were removed at the same time as the hysterectomy. This was done, because Ashley’s family has a history of large breasts, and large breasts could be potentially painful later in life. Savage argues against Shannon’s assumptions by saying that the risks of a hysterectomy outweigh the potential for cramps and other non threatening conditions. No one knows if she will have pain with her cramps, but if she did they could be treated with hormones like other women are. If all the pain and problems cannot be controlled then later in life a hysterectomy could be performed. Until one knows what the situation is like nothing should be done. Removing the breast because large breasts run in the family is not a good reason. The size of her breasts cannot be pre-determined. She could have had small to normal size breasts which would not be painful (Shannon & Savage 2). The parents of Ashley also have reasons why they choose to stop their daughter’s growth.
Ashley’s parents say the reason that they used growth attenuation on their precious daughter was, because it will make caring for her easier in the years to come. According to the article by Bersani, et al., the parents of Ashley used growth attenuation to “minimize the likelihood of a future out-of-home placement by maximizing the future comfort of this child and ensuring a manageable care-giving burden for parents who wanted very much to maintain their daughter in their loving environment (Bersani et al. 351).” They argue that they will be able to provide Ashley with the best care if she remains small and fragile. This is true to an extent. Doing some things such as transporting her will be easier, because she will be light and easy to lift. There are many things that were not taken into consideration about Ashley’s life when she is older.
Ashley will have many struggles in life that could have possibly been easier if she was able to grow and develop properly. When Ashley becomes older, she is going to be hard to handle, because she will be frail. It will become hard to lift her without hurting her frail body. Other things such as having her sit up, bathe, or even eat at a table will be harder with Ashley being so small. If could have been easier for Ashley to do some little things such as just sit up if she could have developed normally. Her developed bones and muscles could have helped her be able to sit up and do other things with little assistance. Ashley will also have to deal with the emotional hardships that come with being a child sized adult. She will never be treated her own age. This could be very hard to deal with emotionally.
Why should parents have the right to make a completely life altering decision for their child? The topic of growth attenuation is being argued ethically between parents and doctors. Disabled people have been struggling to have the same rights as other people for a long time, and a new procedure is threatening to take away their rights. Growth attenuation is a procedure used to stop the growth of a child and there are more negative outcomes than benefits.
Disabled people often get treated unfairly for no reason. The rights of these people have come a long ways in the last few decades. In the early times, disabled people were not counted as real people. They were treated like they did not matter, because they were different from the normal. The use of the new procedure, Growth Attenuation, is taking away a simple right everyone should have. This right is the right to grow and develop how a person was meant to. Perfectly healthy people get to develop as they were meant to. Healthy disabled people should also have this right.
Growth attenuation is a new procedure used on disabled children. In this procedure, the growth of a child is stopped around the age of 9. The child would then be that age for the rest of his or her life. Also, hormones are injected into the child, so he or she doesn’t fully develop into a man or woman. This procedure has only been used once so far. It was used on a severely disabled young girl named Ashley. Now Ashley’s parents are facing a whirl wind of ethical questions. They are wondering if they made the right decision for their daughter.
Ashley’s parents say the reason that they used growth attenuation on their precious daughter was, because it will make caring for her easier in the years to come. They argue that they will be able to provide Ashley with the best care if she remains small and fragile. This is true to an extent. Doing some things such as transporting her will be easier, because she will be light and easy to lift. There are many things that were not taken into consideration about Ashley’s life when she is older.
Ashley will have many struggles in life that could have possibly been easier if she was able to grow and develop properly. When Ashley becomes older, she is going to be hard to handle, because she will be frail. It will become hard to lift her without hurting her frail body. Other things such as having her sit up, bathe, or even eat at a table will be harder with Ashley being so small. If could have been easier for Ashley to do some little things such as just sit up if she could have developed normally. Her developed bones and muscles could have helped her be able to sit up and do other things with little assistance. Ashley will also have to deal with the emotional hardships that come with being a child sized adult. She will never be treated her own age. This could be very hard to deal with emotionally.
CLASS….
I think class is going well. I enjoy writing about the topic I chose. This is good since I have to write about it for the whole semester. I also find using this blogger thing kind of interesting. I have never had a class that required a blogger. I think it is a good way to use technology and not waste as much paper. I never liked printing every little thing out. It felt like a huge waste.
I also find class pretty entertaining. It is hard to make an English class fun, but I think you are doing it. Kudos to PHIL!!!
As far as the peer review workshop went, I thought it was pretty good. I have never done peer review like that before. I usually just had to read 1 or 2 papers and comment on them and so on. I think having your paper read to you is good, because you pick up on a lot of grammar errors that you wouldn’t notice if you read it. I also liked getting comments on my paper from a group of people. I also think it helps to hear other people’s papers, because they may help you think of something that you forgot to include in your paper or how to word something. It is always good to learn from your mistakes as well as others. The only thing I didn’t like about the workshop was that we had to bring ten copies of my paper, but I now know that I can just single space it to try and use less paper. I also realize that my group was bigger because I was not suppose to be in it, but thank you for letting me switch.
That is really all I have for comments on the class. I think it is going good so far. It is way better than what my roommate told me about her English class last semester. I am glad I have a good teacher who can make English semi fun.
The rights of disabled people are constantly being challenged, and a new discovery in technology where a child's growth can be stopped is another right being taken away from some chidren. There are arguments for doing this procedure, but they are ristricting disabled people's rights because they are not able to make this life altering decision by themselves.
Let Me Grow Why should some people not have the right to grow and develop like they were meant to? A recent procedure done with disabled people is taking away the right of them to grow and develop how they are suppose to. This procedure is really new and has not been used very much. The procedure is to inject the body of a disabled child with hormones and drugs that make them stop growing and developing. When this is done to a female child they also use drugs to keep her from becoming a woman. The young girl will not be able to grow and develop into a mature woman.
This topic is being debated on whether it is right or wrong to do this to a child who has no idea what will happen to them. These poor children will be the size of a young child for their whole lives. People will constantly think that they are younger than what they really are. This could become annoying for them. Their stunted development will cause them to get treated and lookeddown upon as a child for their whole life. Not many middle aged adults can say that they would like people to treat them as if they were six years old. It would be degrading to do this to someone, so why should it be ok for this to happen to a children suffering from a disability. People with disabilities often get treated differently and talked to as a child even when it is clear to see that they are obviously an adult. Why should this have to happen to them even more, because their guardian choose to stunt their growth as a child to make it “easier” for them.
The point that is argued for this procedure is that by stunting the child’s growth it would be easier to care for them. It is true that it would be easier to care for a smaller person in certain ways. It would be easier to move them around and easier to help them with daily tasks. This is true, but it is not very hard to do these things with normal sized adults. There are certain ways for helping taller and larger people. The people caring for these disabled people need to have the training to do these things and once they know how it is actually quite easy. For some things, it would actually be easier to do them on a regular sized person. Things such as having them eat at a table, sit in a chair, and even bathing depending on the situation.
Disabled people should not have to deal with another thing that sets them apart from others especially when it is something that does not need to be done. They put up with a lot of out casting and being stared at because of their disabilities alone. They do not need to have another thing added to the list.
Fight for Everyone’s Rights
Disabled people have been fighting for their rights for a long time. They have always been treated differently and unfairly. The rights of disabled people have come a long ways, but there are still many things that need to be done. There have been a lot of laws put in place to help protect the rights of the disabled people. I do not know very many of these at the moment, but I am planning on researching them later. Many people who are physically or mentally disabled often cannot stand up for themselves and voice what they want. These people are often taken advantage of and the sad thing is many people do not even realize it.
A practice that is taking place in the United States is to stop the growth hormones of young disabled children. By doing this, these children never get the chance to grow to normal size. This is violating the right of these children to grow and develop like they were meant to. These children are not capable of stopping their parents and doctors from making this life changing decision.
Another common place where disabled people have their rights taken away from them is in a group home or a nursing home. It is probably necessary for these people to be in these types of places and they probably do not have a problem with it. Where the rights are being challenged are in everyday tasks. Simple things like having their day completely planned out for them everyday can violate their rights. It is good that these places plan activities and keep the people involved and active, but sometimes someone might not want to participate in one of the planned activities. Everyone should have the simple right to say no I do not want to do that, but many times the people in the homes have no choice. They have to do it whether they like it or not.
