Aspies For Freedom

That's kind of disturbing. I mean, what's the girl gonna end up in being so short and still looking like a kid or a "port-a-baby"? Is she going ta end up as a vegetable or a sideshow freak?

I kind of think she is already a vegetable?

She cannot eat, walk, talk.....or even swallow. I think the parents made some very hard choices. I find those choices extreme.but to be perfectly honest, I would have chosen no medical intervention for her when she was born that way...not out of cruelty, but just because it would seem the moral thing to do. I don't know that it was right to keep her alive when she may not receive humane loving care and is unable to defend herself.

that is totally sick. If the parents were suddenly given all the aid and money they needed, they would not have had the surgery. It is because the American health care system sucks. I am happy I live in another country.

Callista Wrote:

Quote:

She cannot eat, walk, talk.....or even swallow. I think the parents made some very hard choices. I find those choices extreme.but to be perfectly honest, I would have chosen no medical intervention for her when she was born that way...not out of cruelty, but just because it would seem the moral thing to do. I don't know that it was right to keep her alive when she may not receive humane loving care and is unable to defend herself.

I should note first that this is not a personal attack; but that I do very strongly disagree with your opinion.

I certainly hope you are either not serious about this, or haven't thought about it deeply... This girl might be handicapped and developmentally delayed; but she's just as capable of happiness as the rest of us. She isn't in pain; she has parents who love her... and you are saying she should have been denied the tube-feeding she needs to live, when she was born? This is murder... Her handicaps are not life-threatening and do not affect her quality of life. Just having a very low IQ and physical disabilities does not doom this child to an unhappy, worthless life.

If she were LFA with spina bifida resulting in quadriplegia... Would you have said the same, that this child's life is not worth living?

It isn't about whether her life would be worth living. It's just, we are life forms just like all other life forms on the planet. We're part of the big picture. Isn't the life of a beef steer worth living? What about all the eggs a chicken lays? Shouldn't they be allowed to hatch?

Life does cruel things to us sometimes. Not every life that is begun is viable. Her wasn't, they made it so. I think that sometimes the choice to keep a child or loved one alive is more about the selfish needs and wants of the parents or other family members than it is about the person themselves. A person should be part of a community, not shoved away in a hospital for their entire life. These are the extremes the parents have had to go to to attempt to ensure that their child will not spend her life in a corner, ignored somewhere, after they grow old and die. Sadly, it still will not guarantee that she won't be a mute victim of sexual assault.

And yes, if I foudn out that I were pregnant with a baby that had severe spina bifida that would be a quadrilplegic, I would abort. It would break my heart and haunt me for the rest of my life, but I would do it. I have seen a girl with severe spina bifida. She has tears running down her face most of the time. She can't do much of anything, and she's so angry from the way she's been treated her entire life that she hardly speaks to anyone. It was cruel of her parents to consign her to an entire lifetime of that.

For those who support this, I ask one question:
How many of you would like to have this done to you? It's well known that people can develop and recover. I could never do this to my own child, life is precious - do not presume that someone would not want to live and rob them of it.

What's abortion got to do with this?
We're talking about a child who already has been born and then operated upon.

It isn't of benefit, that's a BS argument.

http://ashleytreatment.spaces.live.com/blog/

This is her parent's blog, I find it seems they're motivated a lot by the cute factor. Seriously.
"our pillow angel"

The parents are obsessed with cuddling on their kid, hoping it'll make her 'better'. The thought of that is a bit disturbing, if you ask me, and then keeping her forever young to fulfill their....never mind. Just having disturbing thoughts there.

I read an article about this girl in the LA Times and found it to be very disturbing when I read it. Her parents could have hired a caregiver to help relieve the stress of dealing with her. As for sexual abuse, removing her breasts wouldn't necessairly protect her, as all too often girls are abused before puberty sets in.

The thing is, how do her parents know for sure that she is mentally handicapped? It could just be that she can't move and can't communicate. Maybe she can understand what's going on around her, but has no way of demonstrating that.

Drifter Wrote:

Gareth Wrote:

For those who support this, I ask one question:
How many of you would like to have this done to you? It's well known that people can develop and recover. I could never do this to my own child, life is precious - do not presume that someone would not want to live and rob them of it.

Are your responding to chamoisee's post or to the original topic. "this" is a little unclear.

In response to the people that scorn these parents I would ask people to not make such snap judgements. You tried, sentenced and executed these without even seeing their faces. I worry that due to some of our experiences  with some parents, we have become a bit prejudiced against them.

My first reaction to this was outrage too. But when I began to read the parents account it began to see their reasoning.  If this is go to make it easier to move this girl around more often, then that is better for her health, physical and mental. If you have experience or training with care for people who are bed ridden for long periods of time you would know that laying down for such long time can have health risks.

I don't know if this justifies this extreme measure or not, but I definitely don't think that it was done to keep her "Cute".  Although I know there are parents out there that would unfortunately.

One thing that bothers me is the possibility that this might be used for Autisitics as a way to manage behaviours. I disagree with that strongly. We must remain vigilant for when this will happen(As I am sure it will).

"this" referred to the girl who has been operated on. You mention in the last paragraph of your post that we must remain vigilant for when this will happen to autistics - yet you fail to see it has already happened to others. Do not be fooled into complacency by waiting until it happens to us before objecting.

Put this in the same catagory as people who perform genital mutilation on their daughters, common in certain African and Middle Eastern countries. Their parents thinks it "benefits" their daughters, helps to "keep honour in the family" while it basically removes any sexual pleasure they will ever have in their life. Sick, sick, sick.

Check out these two articles:
http://www.thestar.com/Life/article/169916
http://www.thestar.com/Life/article/172192

"She has encountered frustration and pain. She knows what it means to be gripped by fear. She knows what it feels like to be the source of fear for people who look at her and see someone less than human."

And what are Beayni's gifts?

"Rebecca forces people to slow down to communicate with her and this is a gift to the world: slowing people down to the point where they have to listen to those, otherwise ignored, voices," her mother pointed out to the UN.

"This guides us in the direction of a good society; which is measured by how people treat, listen deeply to, empathize and interact with its most vulnerable members.

"...Rebecca's school and later work experience is a testament to how one person can change the entire culture that exists around them. Teachers, administrators, fellow students, and co-workers always say that Rebecca's mere presence changes the very fabric of their relationships, making them more collaborative, more compassionate, and more intuitive to strategies that advantage all persons."

Mich

chamoisee

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Gareth

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ADoyle

Sparkle1984

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