The Ashley X: The Moral Conflict

Ashley X: The moral conflict In the modern world, medicine has made huge scientific progress. Medical procedures that were not even dreamed of in the past are now available today. There is not much that cannot be treated with today’s medical advancements. However, these medical advancements have brought upon dilemmas and moral conflicts within the medical community. There is much discord on what surgeries are considered morally wrong and where to draw the line for medicinal intervention—for example the Ashley X case. The Ashley X case involves a young child named Ashley with a “profound and permanent developmental disability”. Ashley underwent surgery and many medical treatments. She had her growth stunted with the use of a form of estrogen …show more content…
Kass these procedures do not follow the protocol of benefiting Ashley’s health, but instead that the procedures were made to benefit the parents and to make it easier to care for Ashley, rather than then for the benefit of the patient. While it is true that the parent do receive some benefit from the procedures, that is not the driving factor behind the medical treatment Ashley received . The stunt growth was placed on Ashley to keep her weight and height low, while this would make caring for Ashley easier for the parents, it would help prevent back sores and potential discomfort on Ashley. Keeping her small size would also help reduce the risk of Injury when repositioning or moving Ashley. The removal of her uterus was to relief Ashley of menstruation. She would no longer experience this and would prevent the pain of menstrual cramps and possible pregnancy to Ashley, someone who wouldn’t even be able to understand why she would be experiencing this pain and discomfort. This would also lower the possibility of blood clots brought by birth control pills, who someone in Ashley’s condition would be extremely susceptible to. The removal of the breast tissue would help eliminate discomfort that Ashley would feel by the Straps on her chest, not to mention to remove the risk of breast cancer, which is common in her family, Eliminating the need for mammograms and biopsies. These operations would also remove the side …show more content…
Kasse’s views also show that in the case of Ashley, there were no immediate threats to Haley’s health and therefore deem the surgeries unnecessary. However, that is not necessarily the case. It is correct to say that there were no immediate threats to Ashley’s life regarding her health, she would be experiencing pain that would be damaging to her health. Period cramps would be a problem, while Ashley could possible communicate distress, she could not express what she is feeling or the pain she is suffering from. It would be hard to tell what the problem was and Ashley could not just simply take pain relief medicine like regular people do for she could not communicate what she needs the pain reliver for. Period cramps would be a confusing and painful situation adding distress to Ashley and her health. Bead sores would be causing extreme pain and discomfort to Ashley’s health if not dealt with. The weight of her body would contribute to this and further injury as well. The side effects of some of the medicine that she would have to take if the procedures are not made, could greatly affect her immediate health—like blood clots or extreme bleeding. The risk of undetected appendicitis would be greater for her because she could not communicate if she feels pain in her appendix region. And the risk of breast cancer would be something to consider when talking about her immediate health. While all of these factors are not immediate per say, once they are they can become life