U.S.A.
The decision by the parents of a severely brain-damaged child to surgically stunt her growth set off an ethical storm this week. The 9-year-old from Washington state, known only as Ashley, has the mental function of a 3-month-old and cannot hold up her head; doctors say her condition will never improve. Her parents, who have not been identified, ordered surgery in 2004 to remove her uterus and breast tissue, and halt her physical development. Their motive, they said, was to make her bedridden existence more comfortable and enable them to keep her at home. “We call her our Pillow Angel, since she is so sweet and stays right where we place her, usually on a pillow,” they wrote on a Web site about her case, which was the subject of a recent medical journal article. Some medical ethicists object to the parents’ making their daughter a “permanent child.” Others argue that her treatment is appropriate, but should not be “a widespread solution.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Alma's Not Normal, season two: 'hilarious' sitcom is 'pretty much perfect'The Week Recommends The second instalment of Sophie Willan's semi-autobiographical comedy is a 'triumph'
-
An iconic ship is being turned into the world's largest artificial reefUnder the Radar The SS United States will be sunk off the coast of Florida if all goes to plan
-
The 'loyalty testers' who can check a partner's fidelityUnder The Radar The history of 'honey-trapping goes back a long way'
