Hospital admits breaking law by sterilising disabled girl

A hospital acknowledged breaking state law when US doctors performed a hysterectomy on a severely disabled girl whose growth was medically stunted to make care easier for her parents.

Sterilisation surgeries must not be performed on children without a court order, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Centre acknowledged in Seattle after an investigation by Washington Protection and Advocacy System.

The hospital agreed to appoint "someone with a disability rights perspective" to its ethics committee.

The girl, identified only as Ashley, underwent surgery in 2004, when she was six, to remove her uterus and breast tissue and was given growth-stunting hormones.

In Chicago yesterday, disability rights activists held a news conference seeking more response from the American Medical Association to the Seattle case and to a Texas baby's life support dispute.

The groups want to meet regularly with the AMA's ethics council and want the Chicago-based association to support proposed federal legislation that would give families more resources to care for disabled people at home.

AMA spokesman Mike Lynch said association representatives met with the activists in February.

The association does not have a current policy on issues arising from the Seattle case, Lynch said, and policy decisions are made by the group's house of delegates, which next meets at its annual meeting in June.

The Seattle hospital's ethics committee supported the treatment, but noted that court review would be required. A lawyer for the girl's parents disagreed, saying the state law did not apply in Ashley's case, and the hospital performed the procedures without court permission.

"We deeply regret that a court order was not obtained and that an independent third party was not sought to represent Ashley. We take full responsibility for the miscommunication between the ethics committee and the treating physicians," said Dr. David Fisher, the hospital's medical director.

"We have introduced new safeguards so that procedures requiring a court order will have one obtained before they begin."

Ashley cannot sit up, walk or speak. Her parents say keeping her small will allow them to continue caring for her at home even when she is an adult. Her treatment also will allow her to avoid menstruation and related discomfort, as well as breast cancer, which runs in the family, her parents say.

Some critics call the parents' actions perverse and akin to eugenics.

On their blog, Ashley's parents praised the vigilance of the advocacy group that investigated the case. But they also said they hoped requiring court orders in such cases would not create obstacles for parents seeking the best care for disabled children.