Hospital admits breaking state laws in surgical mutilation of stunted daughter

Monday, September 24, 2007 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: medical ethics, health news, Natural News

(NewsTarget) A Washington hospital has admitted that it violated the law when it performed a hysterectomy on a mentally underdeveloped child solely to make it easier for her parents to care for her.

The Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center has agreed, after an investigation by the Washington Protection and Advocacy System, to appoint "someone with a disability rights perspective" to its ethics committee, which had previously approved the procedure.

The child in question, referred to as "Ashley," underwent a hysterectomy in 2004 at the age of six. Doctors also removed her breast tissue and began to treat her with growth-stunting hormones. This was done not to treat any medical condition, but rather to keep her small and easy to care for, and to prevent her from developing reproductive cancers as an adult. According to her parents, it was also intended to help her avoid the discomfort of menstruation. Keeping her small, it was thought, would also help prevent the health complications that can arise from immobility, such as bed sores and pneumonia.

Because sterilizations on children are only allowed by court order in Washington, however, the procedure was illegal.

The hospital's ethics committee had encouraged court review before the procedure was performed, but was ignored.

Ashley suffers from permanent brain damage that makes it impossible for her to walk, speak, swallow or even hold her head up while lying down.

Critics of the surgical procedure compared it to eugenics and accused Ashley's parents of maiming her in order to make life easier on themselves. The child's parents disagreed, saying that they had their daughter's best interests and in mind and that the surgery was intended to improve her quality of life.

Outspoken patient rights advocate Mike Adams said, "Maiming a young child for the convenience of her medical caretakers is unconscionable. To surgically remove a young child's reproductive organs in order to intentionally stunt her growth is an outrageous example of medical ethics gone awry. These actions are not only illegal, they should in fact be considered criminal," Adams said.