Ashley's mom and dad called her their "Pillow Angel" - the girl has a rare medical condition called "static encephalopathy of unknown etiology." Ashley's condition means that even though her body grows normally, her brain is "stuck" developmentally as a 3-month-old baby.
Ashley's parents had now revealed that doctors have given Ashley a hormone treatment to limit her growth (as well as to remove her uterus and block the development of her breast), thus stopping her from growing into a woman. In effect, Ashley will forever remain in a child's body.
Ashley's parents say that because she will remain the weight of a child, it will be easier for them to move her around, bathe her and involve her in family activities - movement that will benefit her physical and mental well-being.
Dr Douglas Diekema from the University of Washington in Seattle, who was on the ethics committee that gave the go-ahead for Ashley's treatment, told the BBC that the panel agreed "because the parents convinced us it was in fact in this little girl's best interests".
"If she were smaller it would be much easier for them to continue to provide a much more personal level of care," he said.
But Agnes Fletcher of the UK's Disability Rights Commission said is was "unnecessary medical treatment to deal with what is essentially a social problem", referring to "the poverty and lack of support" faced by families with disabled children.
Needless to say, this is controversial. Read the whole story before you decide whether this is morally right or wrong. Links: Ashley's Blog | BBC | Times - via Internet Monitor
i respect them a great deal for what they did for her
They acted in their own interest, and they were uncomfortable with their daughter's adult body and sexuality. And they did not protect her from abuse as much as they have deprived her of a form of pleasure (she probably doesn't have many) and, if it came to that, of motherhood. As for her child being mentally handicapped, that's not sure, and a handicapped child is still human, and not necessarily worse off than her.
Yes , that would be sooooo ethical.
If we come up with a way to jumpstart this girl's brain to the point where she cares if she has a womb or not is such progress that if we can do that, we can regrow all the parts that were removed.
Secondly, "How selfish of those people to want a little girl for ever!":
Imagine babysitting a 200 pound baby. Ever notice how a baby will flail with out really noticing it? Imagine trying to bathe or move or dress a person who has Grand Mal seizures 24/7.