Should we intervene with the reproductive system? (Guest post)
Posted on Jul 29, 2007 and filed under Blogathon 2007, Charity
There has been a lot of debate on the matter concerning parents of special needs daughters who struggle with the issue of intervening with their reproductive system. Some of these girls reach puberty and could get pregnant. Some of them are mentally-challenged and are not able to protect themselves in case anything bad happens.
Let me tell you about Penny. Penny passed away when she was about 15 years old. She was an autistic child and later on, developed many physical disabilities and she was unable to walk. When she reached puberty and her menstruation began, her mom had many problems with her.
Their family is unable to afford any special care for her as both parents had to work hard to make ends meet. None of the homes accepted her and moreover, the family loves her too much to part with her. She had three brothers and she would sometimes strip herself and pass motion and dirty the house by wiping all over the walls. So, when she got her period, it was even more messy.
Her mom was desperate and frustrated. She asked me if I could help her find a doctor who was willing to remove the girl’s ovaries to prevent her from bleeding and also turning in a woman. To the outsiders, we may think it is cruel. But we are not the ones who have to clean up the mess she made or the brothers who may be uncomfortable with a woman as a sister. We are not the ones who have to bathe and clean the girl.
The first ob-gyn wasn’t willing to do it and told me he needed a court order. The Government hospital too could not perform it. Then, I found an ob-gyn who understood the dilemma. After a few counseling sessions with the family to make sure that they knew what they were doing, he agreed to perform the surgery. He only charged them a minimal fee, out of compassion.
Penny underwent the surgery. Unfortunately about 1 year later, she got ill and passed away. The only assurance I could offer to her mom was Penny never felt pain. She didn’t have pain reflex and she never felt unhappy as you can see her laughing and clapping her hands.
So, back to my question -
Should we intervene?
My reply will be: If you have walked a mile in the caregivers’ shoes, then, only answer.
- Lilian -
