Parents stunt their disabled daughter's growth to 'give her more opportunities.'

When she was four years old, Charley Hooper’s parents made a controversial but necessary decision.

Charley was born severely mentally and physically disabled. She was epileptic, legally blind, couldn’t walk or talk, had cerebral palsy and her throat muscles were so weak that the simple act of swallowing could kill her.

According to Associated Press her parents, Jenn and Mark Hooper, made the decision to give Charley the hormone oestrogen to permanently stunt her growth through hormone treatment.

This way, they would still be able to lift her, move her and care for her in the same way they’d been doing for the previous four years, and for the rest of her life.

When Charley was seven, the couple also made the decision to give her a hysterectomy so that she would never have to experience the discomfort of period pain.

Charley, not 10, is permanently 1.3 meters tall and 24 kilograms.

Charley Hooper. Source: Global News.

Speaking to Associated Press, Jenn explained that “we haven’t stopped her doing anything. Growing would have stopped her doing things. We didn’t take away any choices that weren’t already taken from her.”

Despite the advantages in being able to take better care of Charley, there are obvious ethical questions that are raised from a case like this.

Speaking to Associated Press, the CEO of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Margaret Nygren, argued that this treatment is “keeping someone small for the convenience of those around them not so the individual is able to have the most fulfilling life”.

Jenn first heard about the hormone therapy after reading about the ‘Ashley Treatment’ case in 2007.

After she was born with a condition that left her with the intelligence of a baby and unable to walk or talk, Ashley’s parents made the decision when she was six to administer oestrogen in order to stunt her growth, and also had a hysterectomy.

Ashley’s parents told The Guardian that at the age of nine, Ashley’s story exploded when her endocrinologist, Dr Gunther, published it in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2006.

Her parents, who have remained anonymous to this day, then wrote about their experience on their blog pillowangel.org.

Now a teenager, Ashley will forever remain 137cm tall and 34kg, about the height and weight of nine-year-old.

In both of these cases, the parents have felt that their child’s quality of life was improved by the treatment. In Charley’s case, her parents even reported that not only did the seizures she was getting stop, she even started smiling.

For a girl whose own parents aren’t sure she recognises them, they can only imagine that this has to be a positive sign.