A British woman has been revealed to have killed her disabled 12 year old daughter by stopping hydration and nutrition.

Nancy Fitzmaurice died in August after officials at London’s Great Ormand Street Hospital stopped her support.  The child suffered from hydrocephalus, meningitis and septicemia at the time of her death.

Her mother had petitioned a judge to allow her to kill her child via a slow death from lack of hydration.  The mother, Charlotte Fitzmaurice Wise, said that she felt her daughter had suffered enough.

The death in August was kept secret until the parents came forward to advocate for the parents of other special needs children to be able to kill their children without court approval.

Disability advocates around the world immediately condemned the family for their killing and said that approval of such actions sets a dangerous precedent.

“Euthanasia of people with disabilities is an extremely dangerous and wholly inappropriate solution to inadequate pain management. In cases where painkillers are insufficient, a number of alternatives for pain management exist. A policy of euthanasia targets vulnerable people, particularly when it is applied to children. People with disabilities who experience chronic pain should have same access as others to life-sustaining medical treatment,” the Autism Self Advocacy Network said in a statement.