Surgeons "maimed" brain damaged child to "convenience" caregivers, health advocate charges

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Due to a severe brain impairment called a static encephalopathy, Ashley is unable to walk, must be fed through a tube, and her parents report her developmental levels have not advanced since she was 3 months old. The procedures, approved by the Seattle Children's Hospital medical ethics board, included a hysterectomy, breast bud removal and estrogen treatments, all designed to keep the girl's body small.

Ashley is brought to the hospital every three months to give doctors the opportunity to monitor her estrogen levels, as well as her height and weight. These treatments mean that Ashley will probably not grow much beyond her current 4-foot-4, 70-pound frame; a move made to keep her from being too heavy for her parents and grandmother -- her caregivers -- to move her.

"We want to avoid sensationalism or philosophical debates about what we did and why we did it," say her caregivers on their website. "We'd rather care for and enjoy Ashley than get into endless debates."

Health advocate Mike Adams said there was no excuse for the procedures.

"What has happened here is appalling and a violation of basic medical ethics," Adams said. "To physical and chemically maim this child for the convenience of her caregivers is criminal. By what insanity does a 9-year-old girl require a hysterectomy? This is medicine gone mad."

According to Dr. Benjamin Wilfond, a specialist in pediatric bioethics at the children's hospital, he was startled when he first heard about the case. Although he was not on the board when it authorized the treatment, Wilfond said the board agreed because the members believed it would benefit the child, and that he understood the decision.

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