Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be unusually short for your age? What if you spent most of your life always being the smallest person in a group of friends? Some people don’t just wonder about this but actually deal with it everyday. A small percentage (2.3%) of children experience what is called Idiopathic Short Stature (ISS). ISS means that a child is very far below the average height for most children of their age and sex. These children are normal in every other way; they do not have any obvious mental or other physical problems. My cousin had a similar experience. He was well under the average height for his age so he started taking growth hormone at the age of four. He continued taking growth hormone until he reached 18 years of age (the approximate age his growth plates might close). Even after taking it, he is not a very tall person (≈5’ 6”), but the growth hormone did help boost his height so he would be closer to the average.
My cousin is not the only person who has taken growth hormone. Many healthy individuals who are drastically under average height do. Growth hormone is usually given for social or psychological reasons since it is difficult for children and especially adults to be so much shorter than the rest of their peers. This is the big question: is it ethically correct to be giving growth hormone to children when it is not for a medical reason? Is it really any different than getting cosmetic surgery, since that also makes a person feel better about themselves around their peers? A half-inch in height will even cost between $18,000 and $36,000. If some children are allowed to receive the hormone injections, then why couldn’t a parent use it to make their child taller to be better at basketball or volleyball? I think that, regardless of its lack of medical reasoning, it should be allowed under certain circumstances. I fully support its use for children who are far under the average height for their age and sex. I don’t think it is appropriate or ethical to use it just for the benefit of gaining an advantage in a given activity. Using the growth hormone to help children, like my cousin, attempt to reach a normal height is completely ethical and should be an accepted use.
Websites relevant to my post:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/78129.php
http://www.hormone.org/Resources/Growth/upload/Idiopathic_Short_Stature_factsheet.pdf
1 comment:
I’ve heard sayings such as “All things happen for a reason,” or, “You make yourself who you want to be,” all the time and try to convince myself that those words are true. However, they aren’t always true. Why is it that Astrid’s cousin was born so short? Was there a reason? And if he wanted to make himself tall just by dreaming about it, would it actually ever happen? Although I don’t know the history behind Astrid’s cousin and things that may have occurred during the pregnancy of him, I can assume that even though his ISS made him short, that’s not how he was supposed to be, nor do I believe that as much as he dreamed of being tall would it actually happen just from thinking about it. To some people, being short is a huge disadvantage, a self-esteem destroyer, and a life-altering trait. I believe that those are all good enough reasons to take a growth hormone even if it’s not for medical purposes.
Some underestimate how much appearance can affect others. So many people are willing to put themselves under the knife in order to make themselves look more appealing or to feel better about who they are. With a growth hormone, it’s the same issue, except there is no knife. The hormone may be costly, but to some, it is well worth it. The chance to feel better about ones self well outweighs all disadvantages. Although I do not support taking growth hormones just to make oneself above average height or to advance in a certain sport, I believe it is completely ethically to take the hormone in the pursuit to become merely average.
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