Pros And Cons Of Growth Attenuation Therapy: The Ashley Treatment
Growth Attenuation Therapy, also referred to as the “Ashley Treatment” is a medical procedure that involves inflicting hormones such as estrogen in the body in order to accelerate the closure of growth plates. As a result, there is a 20-40% reduction in height and weight, attenuating the size of the body as a whole. This treatment first started when the parents of Ashley, a girl with severe developmental disabilities, decided to do the treatment in order to give Ashley a better quality of life. They are now able to give her love and care easily, because of her more mobile, compact size as opposed to caring for her at her estimated adult size of over 5’5. She can participate in more family activities and events; living what is closer to a normal
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It is a fundamental characteristic of a living thing. Growth attenuation violates that right. It stops the growth of the child as well as the child’s overall potential. Hypothetically, if the child had the potential to improve later on, or was simply misdiagnosed, yet proceeded with growth attenuation, any further development from the child would simply be put aside due to the confinement that comes with this procedure. They become more disabled, in a way. They are stripped of their dignity, purpose and freedom of living through something as simple as restricting their size. It degrades their value through the way people see them and how they see …show more content…
The child who undergoes the treatment will have no control whatsoever on what’s being done to their bodies, regardless of whether they want it done or not. Their life is put under the complete control of other people. Also by proceeding with the therapy, they essentially say that disabled people are merely a thing to be fixed; a mistake. Which is not true at all because all creation is made in the image of God. It was planned and intentional to give that person a disability. . "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…"-Jeremiah 1:5 ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?..." Exodus 4:11-12 God can use anyone to glorify Himself and His plan regardless of their health or status. For a person to try to change that and to try to end all possibilities on the basis of a disability, is
It is a fundamental characteristic of a living thing. Growth attenuation violates that right. It stops the growth of the child as well as the child’s overall potential. Hypothetically, if the child had the potential to improve later on, or was simply misdiagnosed, yet proceeded with growth attenuation, any further development from the child would simply be put aside due to the confinement that comes with this procedure. They become more disabled, in a way. They are stripped of their dignity, purpose and freedom of living through something as simple as restricting their size. It degrades their value through the way people see them and how they see …show more content…
The child who undergoes the treatment will have no control whatsoever on what’s being done to their bodies, regardless of whether they want it done or not. Their life is put under the complete control of other people. Also by proceeding with the therapy, they essentially say that disabled people are merely a thing to be fixed; a mistake. Which is not true at all because all creation is made in the image of God. It was planned and intentional to give that person a disability. . "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…"-Jeremiah 1:5 ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?..." Exodus 4:11-12 God can use anyone to glorify Himself and His plan regardless of their health or status. For a person to try to change that and to try to end all possibilities on the basis of a disability, is