A case I found in a similar vein-
"The parents of a 13-year-old Tasmanian autistic girl have insisted that she was losing her dignity because an application to have her sterilised had been rejected. The application for Laura Ferris to have a hysterectomy was supported by a paediatrician, a gynaecologist, a psychologist, a psychiatrist and a Family Planning doctor. But it was rejected by the Guardianship and Administration Board.
The family said on August 26 that they were unable to afford a court appeal. But Laura's mother, Sue, declared that she and her husband did not want to see their daughter lose her dignity and, because she was assessed as equivalent to a 14-month-old child, she was unable to cope with her menstrual cycle. She said that stopping their daughter menstruating was the main reason behind their sterilisation bid, although preventing a potential pregnancy was also relevant.
"Every time I have to change her [hygiene products] I feel terrible," Mrs Ferris said. "If she were not disabled, would she, as a 13-year-old girl, want someone changing her? The answer would be no, so why should she have to put up with that because she is disabled? It is a quality of life issue. Without a hysterectomy, she always needs someone to be changing her. Even by using a contraceptive pill, someone is always going to have to be there to give it to her."
Laura has a severe variant of late-onset autism known as childhood disintegrative disorder and her mother maintains that she did not understand what changes her body was going through as a teenager and probably never would. Laura does not speak, has extremely limited communication, is hyperactive and dislikes wearing clothes. She has only just learned to use a knife and fork.
The wider picture is more complex, however. A Tasmanian-based advocacy group, Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA), says that hundreds of Australian women and girls with disabilities had been unlawfully sterilised and that the procedure was a violation of human rights if done without consent.
The Hobart-based WWDA said that parents struggled with scant government support, making sterilisation seem the best option to many.
Mrs Ferris, herself, believes that a hysterectomy is the best thing to allow Laura to cope with menstruation. "To me it is a dignity issue for Laura," she said. "Doctors have told us about the contraceptive pill and devices and we've looked at those, but I'm not happy with the pill and someone would have to give it to her every day for maybe 40 years. I believe the pill has risks, too. I would rather spend the money we would need for a court case on a really good doctor."
There is something deeply saddening about a battle over such a major personal decision (and medical operation) in which the protagonist herself is unable even to express her own views on the matter. But this instance also highlights the profound concern of most parents of autistic children over their offspring's future independence - or lack of it."
This is the link to this story-
http://www.autismconnect.org/news.asp...e=2&id=5076