When Judge Mrs Justice Eleanor King ruled that a disabled man could be sterilised last week, her controversial decision became a national talking point.
But for Alison Thorpe, 51, the landmark ruling came as a welcome surprise. Like the parents of the 37-year-old man, Alison has fought long and hard to get a hysterectomy for her severely disabled daughter Katie.
And although it might sound cold-hearted, Alison, from Billericay in Essex, insists that removing her daughter's womb is the best thing for her - and will spare her pain.
Tragedy: Alison Thorpe with her severely disabled daughter Katie, 21, who has the mental age of a baby
Tragedy: Alison Thorpe with her severely disabled daughter Katie, 21, who has the mental age of a baby
Difficult: Alison says Katie goes through excruciating pain each month when her period begins
In an interview with Closer magazine, Alison explained that she has wanted a medical intervention for Katie, 21, who has the mental age of a six-month-old, since she began her periods.
Katie has severe cerebral palsy and cannot walk, talk or feed herself. But despite her condition, NHS medical experts insist that a hysterectomy wouldn't be in Katie's best interests.
'Every month when Katie has her period, she screams and writhes in agony,' explains her mother. It's heartbreaking. Katie can't make choices in life, so why - as her mother who has cared for her for over 20 years - should that choice not be placed with me?'
Katie's condition was caused by being starved at oxygen at birth and was diagnosed when she was just four months old.
Devastated, it took Alison months to recover although a local support group came to her aid. Now in her 20s, Katie still has the mental age of a six-month-old baby but has come to enjoy the presence of horses and the sight of sensory lights.
Suffering: Katie, who has severe cerebral palsy, cannot walk or talk and has the mental age of a six-month-old
Suffering: Katie, who has severe cerebral palsy, cannot walk or talk and has the mental age of a six-month-old
Cause: Katie's condition was caused by being starved of oxygen at birth and was diagnosed at four months
Cause: Katie's condition was caused by being starved of oxygen at birth and was diagnosed at four months
Landmark: Mrs Justice Eleanor King ruled the 37-year-old man could be sterilised
Read the full story in this week's Closer magazine, out now
Landmark: The ruling made by Mrs Justice Eleanor King has inspired Alison, whose story appears in Closer
In 2005, as puberty began, Alison got in touch with her GP to raise the possibility of sterilisation and was referred to a gynaecologist.
But instead of a hysterectomy, the gynaecologist suggested the Pill or contraceptive injections instead - neither of which, Alison says, were suitable for Katie.
Rejecting the gynaecologist's advice, she battled on, taking her case to a succession of NHS boards, before the move was finally denied by a panel of doctors in 2008.
'Losing the case was heartbreaking,' Alison told Closer. 'I couldn't fathom why they couldn't see how much Katie needed it. When they said it was against her human rights, I could have cried.'
And then, her worst fears were realised. When Katie eventually began her periods at the age of 19 in 2011, the effect was traumatic.
According to her mother, she screamed and screamed and beyond giving Katie paracetamol, there was nothing Alison could do.
Now she hopes to take her daughter's case to the High Court in the wake of the latest ruling - and hopes a similar verdict will result.
'This ruling has given me hope that one day Katie will be able to have the operation,' she says. 'Her condition is incurable, but if I could take away this pain once a month, I could finally feel like I was doing something to make her physically better.'
Read the full story in this week's issue of Closer, out now
sourceOlokunbolablessing.blogspot.com/2013/08/every-month-when-she-has-her-period-she.html
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