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Ben Sen (and others stating that we shouldn't criticize this family's 'private decision'): I guess I probably have a different perspective from yours. My foster daughter's birth parents had her imprisoned in a mental hospital and drugged into a semi-comatose state for almost a year for the crime of complaining about her father's sexual abuse of her. There are many, many parents who do not act with the best interests of their children in mind, and at least a few hospitals who are willing to act against the interests of a child if the parents are willing to pay. It can't simply be assumed that the parents are the best people to make decisions about a child and that no one outside the family has the right to ask questions.
When parents ask for treatment which has previously been considered beyond the ethical pale, it's everyone's business. This is new territory. If it's suddenly okay to perform medically unnecessary procedures on people who are unable to speak up for themselves, it affects everyone.
