A UW professor at the forefront of a divisive medical procedure committed suicide Sept. 30.

Dr. Daniel F. Gunther died from toxic asphyxia after inhaling car exhaust fumes, according to the King County Medical Examiner's Office.

"The manner of death was suicide," said a representative of the Medical Examiner.

Gunther made headlines last year when a report was published detailing a series of medical procedures he performed with colleague Dr. Douglas S. Diekema on a 6-year-old disabled girl.

The patient, known only as "Ashley X," was born with extensive brain damage, leaving her unable to sit up and earning her the nickname "Pillow Angel" from her parents.

Gunther and Diekema performed a hysterectomy, removing the girl's uterus. She also had breast tissue removed and began hormone treatment to stunt her growth in order to help her parents care for her at home.

The report about the operations, which took place at Children's Hospital in 2004, was published in an issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, sparking debate online and in the media about the ethical consequences of the procedure.

"I think the Peter Pan option is morally wrong," said Arthur Caplan, Ph. D., to MSNBC.com last year. "I believe it is true that it is easier to move Ashley about if she is the size of a 6-year-old. But I also believe that a decent society should be able to provide appropriately sized wheelchairs and bathtubs and home-health assistance to families like this one."

Children's Hospital admitted to breaking a state law, which requires that a court order be obtained when sterilizing a child.

The hospital had no comment on Gunther's death.

Ashley's parents remained grateful to Gunther on their daughter's blog, last updated in March of this year.

"It is our, and Ashley's luck, that we knocked on the right door," her mother said.

[Reach reporter Arla Shephard at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]