March 10, 2008 10:37 PM
Down syndrome cosmetic surgery outrage
Boy, did these parents miss the point - these kids are all about helping us shift our paradigms about "perfection":
Outrage Over Parents’ Decision to Have Down Syndrome Child Undergo Cosmetic Surgery
Monday, March 10, 2008The parents of a girl with Down syndrome have caused a public outcry in the U.K. by subjecting their daughter to cosmetic surgery to improve her appearance.
Georgia Bussey underwent "radical and painful" cosmetic surgery three times by age 5 so she could "fit in" with her peers, the U.K.'s Daily Mail reported Sunday.
Article here.
HT: Suzanne.
Posted in Down syndrome | Permalink
Comments
Unfortunately there is hardly any outrage when parents abort their children who are diagnosed this way. Something that is occurring more and more.
Posted by: Jeff Miller | March 10, 2008 11:10 PM
The first time I heard of this surgical procedure to erase the "stigma" of Down syndrome, I was appalled and confused. My daughter has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Her subtle facial anomalies are hidden from most of the world. She looks "normal" but is not neurotypical. Her normal looks communicate capability. People assume she should process information and respond normally. She doesn't. Her normal appearance makes her life harder not easier.
Down Syndrome, FASD, autism... all variation within God's creative spectrum ~
Posted by: Julie | March 10, 2008 11:19 PM
I really struggle with this. I understand medically necessary surgery, including facial reconstructive surgery. My oldest son was born with a bi-lateral cleft lip and palate and has had 11 surgeries to correct his abnormalities so that he could eat, breathe, and talk normally. Our decision has never been based on cosmetics alone. In fact, we decided to wait on one procedure because it was primarily a cosmetic one and I didn't feel it was necessary. (My son is now 10, and if he requests work, I will reconsider that decision.)
Posted by: Ceci | March 11, 2008 1:40 AM
I had a little boy with Down Syndrome. He died when he was still a baby after heart surgery.
Now, whenever I'm out and see a child with those familiar features, I get a little pang but I also smile, because I remember how special he was, and how excited I was to get a chance to raise him (though now that longing won't occur until heaven).
They really are unique individuals, sent to us, just like you said, to readjust our thinking about what it means to be a human being, and what is important in this life. With their smiles, they ground us. I wouldn't mess with that smile ever, for anything.
You can read about my story with Christopher here.
Posted by: Sheila Gregoire | March 11, 2008 8:50 AM
*sharp intake of breath*
And I haven't even read the article yet!That is truly awful.
Posted by: Sheena | March 11, 2008 12:18 PM
This is appalling, but as Jeff Miller said above, where is the outrage over abortion? How thankful I am that I am loved by my Father in heaven. I don't have to be perfect. The same Heavenly Father loves little Georgia Bussey even in her imperfections. We should pray for her parents!
Posted by: Kathy | March 11, 2008 12:23 PM
While, in this case I would agree this is probably a sad case---in which the parents acted selfishly.
However, I don't think we can make a swooping judgment here.
My daughter and son were both born with the same genetic disease my husband carries. My daughter specifically has some severe craniofacial issues that we had taken care of. When she was a baby, we got so many stares, questions, and quite frankly rude responses from some people. (one lady asked us if we beat her!?!?!?)
Some would consider the surgeries we had done cosmetic in nature, yes(our insurance refused surgery that would fix her eyes because it was considered "cosmetic") but truthfully, we did it because WE felt it was BEST for our daughter. I do not regret it one second.
We did it early, so that she would not remember being put thru several surgeries in a row. We knew being a girl and appearance are hard things to deal with--and we wanted to save her as much teasing as possible.
So, yes, we changed our daughter's appearance. But not because we didn't love her the way she was born, or because we wanted a "perfect" child or any such nonsense.
We did it because we love her and truly thought it was best for her at the time. She is 5 now and we still stand by our decision.
I'm sure parents with children with cleft palates, hemangionomas, etc. and other facial issues would fall on BOTH sides of this issue. Helping a child via surgery to feel better/look better is not being selfish and wanting a perfect child. It is, in our case, a tool to help make childhood and life a little easier. Some people prefer to wait and let the child make the decision. We took action early because we knew it needed to be done in order for her to be more self confident before the time came that she realized the stares were not pleasant, friendly ones.
Posted by: Lindsey | March 11, 2008 12:43 PM
Wow! Are we really that vain, nowadays?
Posted by: Carletta | March 13, 2008 1:29 AM
Part of the responsibilities of being a parent is accepting your child as God has given him/her to us. Maybe they should have waited for their child to grow up to make this decision on her own, if she really wanted this surgery.
Posted by: Lewis Bae | May 18, 2008 9:21 AM
