Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Katie thorpe,a 15 yr old based in the county of essex,east of england,is in the middle of a raging human rights controversy..what makes her so special is the condition that she suffers from.. cerebral palsy..now i know that not everyone will be familiar with it,Even i wasnt ..so i did a little bit of homework on it and am mentioning just a few points about cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious diseases that cause physical disability in human developmentMedical intervention is limited to the treatment and prevention of complications possible from CP's consequencesThe ability to live independently with CP also varies widely depending on severity of the disability. Some individuals with CP will require personal assistant services for all activities of daily living. As the condition does not directly affect reproductive function, some persons with CP have children and parent successfully.
Now the type that she suffers from is called quadriplegia,which means all her four limbs are affected,there is lack of muscle tone,which makes even basic functions like eating and breathing difficult,Her brain functioning is equivalent to a 6 month old.
The controversy is involving her mother s decision to make katie undergo a hysterectomy[surgical removal of the uterus]..Human rights groups have created a furore regarding interference with the natural cycle and denying katie the right to be a woman..Their grouse is that her mother is projecting the fact that disabled individuals do not have the right to lead a normal life..Her mother's retort is that she is just trying to protect her daughter from the additional burden of menstrual problems and the complications that arise from it.The human rights groups accuse her of being selfish and doing it against katie s interest.The medical consent form required for the surgery is stuck due to the confusion.
When i read this report,i sat back and thought.Human beings are the most exploitative of the species,yet the most exploited.
My opinion was clear cut.Is there any point in giving katie the right to be a woman,when she cannot feel like one?Is being a woman all about keeping the uterus intact?its easy to protest n have a feel good factor when u return home but will the human right groups clean up after katie?Will they protect her from abuse and bear the consequences of sexual abuse too just in case it does happen..?
I think Mrs Thorpe should not be harassed further,and that we should leave it to her personal choice, but i also know that a lot of ethical questions can arise...
The debate is on... the choice is yours.

4 comments:

  1. That's a tough call really...

    If there is any chance Katie's going to be normal again, then her mother is taking a HUGE chance! Although I'm sure she's checked & re-checked on that as well!

    Then again, miracles happen & '...lately I'm a desperate believer...'!!

    So I'm stumped! I guess I should do what I do best in such cases - pray to the Amighty.

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  2. this is the first time i am reading about this issue.....with no acces to the daily newspaper, u are the only way i get to know about such issues......
    initially when i read this article i was totally against katie thorpe getting the hysterectomy done....then i went thru a few related articles on the issue and then i realised that guess people like katie shud not be put thru the ordeal of a menstrual cycle every month.....it might just freak her out as she will not be aware of what is going on in her body....


    "While some doctors will argue the operation would relieve suffering, others may say that women should not have their ability to have children taken away, regardless of how disabled they are and whether they are deemed capable of consenting to sex."

    in the articles i read about katie thorpe i found this one sentence which really mad me write this comment......i disagree with the latter half of the statement....she shud be given her rights...agreed...but she is unable to comprehend what her life is duing to her.....she is totally at the mercy of another individual........i mean her mother obviously will not take her to be a burden but an added issue here will not help at all.......what i mean is her mother has taken care of her all her life and will continue to do so.so i think the decision of "whether to get a hysterectomy or not"shud solely rest with her mother and no one else.....the media has no right to intervene in this and neither do any human rights commission...
    are they going to take responsibility it anything happens to katie?????????????????

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  3. strong response that one...and thanks for the added information...and im glad iv become ur daily newspaper!

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  4. the person, who took care of the very needs, for the entire 15 long years is the only one who deserves the rightful act of the choice she made.

    no institution, no body of human commission has the right to interfere as they were invisible until the choice was made public.

    It was the mother who stood by and will do so for Katie's life until the end of the page.

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