"Wisdom is Knowing When You Can't Be Wise"

This isn't our usual type of post but it it something that disturbs me (in various, conflicting ways) and it certainly does deal with legal rights and our children.

Some of you may be familiar with this story from the UK, having seen or heard news coverage of it last year.

The mother of a severely disabled teenager has asked doctors to give her daughter a hysterectomy to stop her from starting menstruation. Alison Thorpe, 45, from Essex, says 15-year-old Katie, who has cerebral palsy, would be confused by periods and they would cause her indignity.

Doctors are now seeking legal approval before carrying out the surgery.

The disabled charity Scope said the operation would set a "disturbing" precedent for other disabled girls.

If approved, it will be the first time in the UK a hysterectomy is carried out without it being medically needed.

As it turns out, after Britian's National Health Service took legal advice, the procedure was not approved.

But as unusual as this story may sound, it's not unique. Ashely's mom, at Pipecleaner Dreams (a blog I would recommend, by the way, for any parent of a challenged child seeking like-minded company) tells the tale of a second Ashley, in Seattle.

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Cross-posted on Free Falling