Should children with Down's syndrome have cosmetic surgery?

Abstract

This article explores the rise in the uptake of cosmetic surgery for children with Down's syndrome. The pursuit of such surgical intervention is often a response to society's discriminatory attitude towards Down's syndrome and difference. Such an action raises many ethical concerns, e.g. should a child be subjected to cosmetic surgery when he/she does not understand what is happening to him/her? Much time, effort and resources are needed to work with children with Down's syndrome to ensure their full and active development through childhood. There have been changes in challenging discriminatory attitudes towards people with a disability in society. This, however, is the result of the public coming into contact and building relationships with people with disabilities in the wider community and not cosmetic surgery.