Bioengineers at Work

Pillow Angel Ethics

This article really caught my attention, because it is an idea that I have thought about before. It is about a severely brain-damaged girl, whose growth was stunted so that she would remain the size proportional to her mental capacity, so that she could be more easily cared for. Through high-dose estrogen treatment over the past two years, her growth plates were closed. Her parents argued that it was more for her well being than the fact that it would be easier for them. The treatment went further: doctors also removed her uterus so she wouldn't menstruate or get pregnant and her breast buds because of a family history of cancer and fibrocystic disease. The decision was easy for the parents, but for the 40-member ethics committee of Seattle Children's Hospital, "it took time to get past the initial response--Wow, this is bizarre--and think seriously about the reasons for the parents' request." The doctors concluded that since the girl would never be able to have a job or romance there was really no social consequences of her being small and she really had no concept of size. However, there is much controversy over whether or not they have stolen her rights. The ultimate question becomes "how far will it go?"