ERIC Number: EJ920689
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1184-0412
EISSN: N/A
The Unkindest Cut of All: Portrayals of Pain and Surgery in the Tracy Latimer Case
Janz, Heidi L.
Developmental Disabilities Bulletin, v37 n1-2 p45-62 2009
The paper examines the language used to describe pain and surgery in the trials and the media discussions of the killing of Tracy Latimer by her father. Descriptions of proposed surgical procedures, that were planned before Tracy was killed, exaggerate the intrusiveness of surgeries to be performed so as to suggest that surgery would be worse than death. Language was used to make the case that killing Tracy was somehow justified because Tracy was in relentless pain, and the proposed surgery would only have caused even more pain. Therefore, the assumption is made that surgery would have been worse than death for Tracy. In reality, Tracy experienced some pain and discomfort, but her pain was manageable, and would most likely have been eliminated by surgery. (Contains 3 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Surgery, Pain, Cerebral Palsy, Parent Role, Parents, Legal Responsibility, Homicide, Ethics, Social Attitudes, Foreign Countries, Personal Autonomy, Quality of Life
J.P. Das Developmental Disabilities Centre. 6-102 Education North, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G5, Canada. Tel: 780-492-4505; Fax: 780-492-1318; Web site: http://www.ualberta.ca/~jpdasddc/bulletin/index.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A