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Most of the people who criticize the parents display little ability to read and comprehend. The worst are those who complain about "Pillow Angel" and talk about "lapdogs" and such, as if the parents *chose* for her to be immobile. Ashley stays where she's put, not because of the surgery or the parents' choice, but because she's 3 MONTHS OLD (mentally), and that's what 3 month olds do. And she's going to be that way AS LONG AS SHE LIVES. Can people grasp what that means for the parents? The uncomprehending ones can't. But rather than develop great frustration toward their child and denigrate her for her immobility, Ashley's parents lover her with all their heart, and put a positive spin on it. And for this, the uncomprehending ones criticize them.
The talk about disability and autonomy is also very uncomprehending. Ashley is 3 MONTHS OLD (mentally), and always will be. Because of the pelvic position resulting from our upright posture and our large brains, human fetuses can't be carried beyond 9 months. In essence, half the human gestation period happens after birth; most other animal infants are able to move about and feed shortly after birth. Talk about autonomy for a 3 month old human infant, with 6 months of gestation to go, is absurd.
A 3 month old's mind in a 3 month old's body is not disabled, but a 3 month old's mind in an adult body would be severely disabled. A 3 month old's mind in a 9 year old's body is disabled, but not so severely so. It wasn't anyone's choice that Ashley's brain will never develop beyond that of a three month old, but it is possible to choose that her body does not continue to develop, creating a huge mismatch between her brain and her body -- an intelligent choice, by deeply loving parents.
