Doctors are preparing to remove the womb of a disabled teenager because her mother fears she will not cope with the complications of adulthood.

For the first time in Britain, surgeons are seeking legal approval to carry out a hysterectomy on the 15-year-old girl even though the surgery is not medically needed.

The case is likely to provoke an ethical debate about how society looks after the disabled and whether it is ever justified to perform surgery on people with disabilities for social reasons.

Alison Thorpe, 45, from Billericay, Essex, has asked surgeons at St John’s hospital in Chelmsford to perform a hysterectomy on her daughter Katie because she says the girl, who has severe cerebral palsy, should not be further distressed by the pain and inconvenience of monthly periods.

Phil Robarts, a consultant gynaecologist at the hospital, backs Thorpe and has spoken to other surgeons, who share his view. He has now asked NHS lawyers for approval to carry out the surgery as the child cannot give consent. “I think the girl’s mother makes a very cogent argument for proceeding with that course of action, albeit it is rather drastic,” he said.

Thorpe says her daughter, who cannot walk or talk and is believed to understand little of what is said to her, does not need her womb because she will never marry or have children. She says Katie will not understand menstruation and the process will cause her unnecessary indignity.

“This operation would improve Katie’s quality of life,” said Thorpe. “Her life expectancy is poor. We want to give her the best quality of life while she is here and if that means surgery to take away discomfort, pain and mood swings, then we will do it.”

It would be the first operation of its kind in Britain and follows the case of the American girl known as Ashley X, who underwent similar surgery because her parents wanted to stop her from growing up.

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