Minors' capacity to refuse treatment: a reply to Gilmore and Herring.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Re R and Re W allow a parent to consent to treatment a competent minor refuses, but the cases have not been tested post-Human Rights Act 1998. Gilmore and Herring offer a means by which they might be distinguished or sidelined. They interpret Gillick to say that in order to consent a minor need only have a full understanding of the particular treatment. They argue that the minors in Re R and Re W were refusing all treatment which requires a separate assessment of capacity-an assessment which was not made. We fear that this distinction would not be workable in clinical practice and argue that their interpretation of Gillick is flawed. From a clinician's point of view, competence cannot always be judged in relation to a specific treatment, but instead must relate to the decision. We show that a decision can incorporate more than one treatment, and more than one decision might be made about one treatment. A minor's understanding of a specific treatment is not always sufficient to demonstrate competence to make a decision. The result is that whilst there might be situations when a parent and a minor both have the power to consent to a particular treatment, they will not share concurrent powers in relation to the same decision. Consequently, a challenge to Re R and Re W, if forthcoming, would need to take a different form. We emphasise the necessity to minimise the dichotomy between legal consent and how consent works in medical practice.
منابع مشابه
Ethical Considerations in Respecting Patient's Autonomy and Right to Refuse Treatment: A case Report
One of the most challenging aspects of treatment is when patient seriously refuses the desired by treating physician. On the other hand, refusing treatment is a condition of the patient's right to be aware, but does such a right also imposes a moral obligation on the treating physician or not? This study discusses the diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosis disease. This article attempts to p...
متن کاملMinors' rights in medical decision making.
In the past, minors were not considered legally capable of making medical decisions and were viewed as incompetent because of their age. The authority to consent or refuse treatment for a minor remained with a parent or guardian. This parental authority was derived from the constitutional right to privacy regarding family matters, common law rule, and a general presumption that parents or guard...
متن کاملComparison of self-control and metacognition components in normal minors and juvenile delinquents at correction and rehabilitation centers
Self-control and cognition are among the factors involved in the tendency toward delinquency. The aim of this study was to compare self-control and metacognition components in normal minors and juvenile delinquents at correction and rehabilitation centers. This was a causal-comparative descriptive study. The statistical sample included 70 juvenile delinquents (55 boys and 15 girls), selected...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Medical law review
دوره 20 3 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2012