The irreversible disabling of a child: the ?Ashley treatment?

Abstract

The controversial growth attenuation therapy for a severely disabled girl named Ashley is about intentional and deliberate medical acts of crippling. Does crippling children amount to a fundamental violation of their dignity and the oath of physicians to first do no harm? The way we formulate the dilemma, the picture we draw of its salient features, largely determines the conclusions we reach and the choices we make. It is intellectually important to try to view the events as the major participants view them.