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Friday, February 9, 2007 12:00 AM

Behind the Pillow Angel

Doctors at the Seattle hospital that operated on a disabled girl to keep her from reaching sexual maturity -- the controversial "Ashley Treatment" -- were more troubled by the procedure than has been reported previously.

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  • Friday, February 9, 2007 03:51 AM

    What has Ashley lost?

    As someone earlier mentioned, having a period is part of being a woman.

    An adult woman.

    Not a three-month-old (please note, at least one previous poster: not three years, but three months) infant girl.

    Having sexual desire and pleasure is part of being an adult, not an infant. And giving birth and whatever else she might be giving up. It's not part of what defines "personhood" when you're a baby. You have every right to exist at that age, but you aren't generally considered to have some kind of a right to sexual pleasure. What is Ashley giving up, really? She's never going to have The Talk with her mom, go shopping for her first bra, get married and have babies. I'm not sure I agree with doing this surgically, but mutilation? To mutilate, you have to deprive someone of something they need without benefit. An appendectomy is not mutilation. This is, for Ashley's intents and purposes, the same thing.

    Her disability is not like most mental or physical disabilities. Adults with Down's Syndrome, for example, can hold down jobs, make friends, even have relationships, and yes, sex. They may need assistance, but they are capable of doing all those things and I would never ask them to give up any of that. Ashley will unfortunately never have that option, and so the best they can do is make her comfortable.

    I'm bothered by the term, too. Not because they call her that. I don't care if they call her "Our Little Pumpkinny-Wumpkinny Cupcake"--cutesy doesn't bother me. It's that they seem to be using this "Pillow Angel" thing as a generic now that bugs me. A nickname is sweet. A euphemism is not.

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