Mum Wants Disabled Daughter To Have Hysterectomy
Alison Thorpe, a mum from Essex, wants her 15-year-old daughter Katie to have a hysterectomy. Why? Well she's asked doctors to perform the operation on her daughter because she has cerebral palsy and fears that periods would be upsetting and undignified for her.
Doctors are now seeking legal approval before carrying out the surgery. The disabled charity Scope said the operation would set a "disturbing" precedent for other disabled girls. Katie's mother said "All we are trying to do is keep and improve Katie's quality of life. By stopping menstruation it's allowing Katie to enjoy life to the full without the problems of menstruation...the mood swings, the tears, the stomach cramps, the pain, the discomfort, the embarrassment."
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She said the decision had not been made lightly, but was something she had thought through for many years and finally decided upon when Katie turned 13. According to the Sunday Times, Phil Robarts, a consultant gynaecologist at Mrs Thorpe's local hospital, supports her decision.
Mrs Thorpe said: "She's not going to get married and she's not going to have children...Katie is not going to become a normal adult. I absolutely understand that it's not for everyone, and I'm not saying it should be either." She also said she was "utterly" convinced it was the right decision for her daughter. "It's not about us, it's about Katie," she said.
The disabled charity Scope reacted with alarm to the news and the charity's executive director, Andy Rickell, said the operation could have "disturbing" implications for other disabled children, and may not even be in the best interests of Katie. He acknowledged that Katie and her mother faced a difficult and sensitive situation, and that he recognised the challenges faced by families with disabled children. But he said there were deep ethical problems with carrying out unnecessary surgery on people who are unable to give consent.
He said: "This case raises fundamental ethical issues about the way our society treats disabled people and the respect we have for disabled people's human and reproductive rights. Scope is concerned that doctors are supporting parents in this case. If this enforced sterilisation is approved it will have disturbing implications for young disabled girls across Britain." He also said that it was for society to adapt to the needs of disabled people, not the other way round.
Simone Aspis, of the UK's Disabled People's Council, said the case was about Katie's human rights. She said: "It is very clear to us that no operation should be undertaken if there is absolutely no clinical benefit to the person concerned. There's lots of non-disabled women who also experience discomfort in their periods. Doctors wouldn't even anticipate in recommending to a parent that their child should have their womb removed. Why should it be the case for this person simply because she is disabled? As far as we're concerned that is totally and utterly unacceptable."
October 2007
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