The popular belief among our society has always been “Parents know what's best”. While they're young they know how to make their medical decisions for them. They know what's best for their children they know how to keep them safe and healthy. However their children soon turn into teenagers who should be trusted to make their own choices regarding their health care. There no longer the children they once were they can comprehend the extension of every decision they make. Services and treatments should not be restricted to them because of their age or need for parental consent. Teenagers should be given confidential health care and should be trusted to make the choices that regard themselves. They should be allowed the privacy from everyone including …show more content…
One example is sexually active teens. If teens do not have access to confidential health care then they won't just all stop having sex they will continue to do so but without the services that clinics can offer them such as STD test, HIV test, contraceptives, emergency contraception, treatments for the STD’s and pregnancy test. Sexually active young adults need to have access to these services so that if they continue to have sex they do so in a healthy and responsible way. If teens are not allowed confidential health care and require parental consent for these test, treatments and contraceptives than most teens will choose to forgo them for fear of their parents discovering that they are sexually active They will instead rely on unsafe methods to not lead to an unwanted pregnancy and will just hope that they continue to stay safe. However it’s not just sexually active teens that need confidential health care but all teens. They need it so that they can have access to other services such as counseling, and therapy. At adolescence and young adulthood some teens begin to display symptoms of mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder or depression and they will need to see a therapist when this happens. Other teens need the counseling and therapy just to deal with the stress of everyday life, friends, family, school, eating …show more content…
Parents have been making every decision for their child since the moment they are born. They control what they eat what they wear where they go who the doctor is everything so it is understandable that they would want to continue to make these medical decisions about their teens. Especially since parents believe that their teens are not mature enough to make these choices. However teens aren't young children they are young adults that are capable of fully understanding both sides of treatment, medicine or procedure. They can understand the good and the bad. At this point in their lives they are not only capable of understanding the risk of whatever medical decision they make they are capable of having an opinion on it. They learned and will need to know how to so when the time comes that they are on their own they know what's best to do for themselves. Teens are just as capable of making these decisions as their parents so it's about time that society lets
Competent adults have the legal right to make decisions about their own health care without being challenged by a physician. However, in some instances, those same competent adults cannot make medical decisions for their children without the courts stepping in and overriding the parents’ legal rights. One of the most challenging and complicated task as a parent is to make a medical decision about their child that could mean life or death (The Canadian Bar Association, 2012).
In pediatric cases, the parents/guardians are initially given the right to make decisions for their minor
In America, the legal age to sign off on any medical consent is 18 years of age. Seventeen year olds should be able to compose their own medical decisions, and sign off on their own medical consents. Power should land in their hands, accompanied by the professional advice of a doctor. It is your body, be compelled to fabricate a decision without having to have your parent’s signature.
When parents refuse treatment for children: A legal and ethical Q&A. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/20/when-parents-refuse-treatment-for-children-a-legal-and-ethical-qa/
Health professionals are constantly working on improvements because of ethical concerns that they face in their everyday lives. The relationship between a physician and a patient is often seen as a relationship with no errors or ethical concerns but that is not the case. There are constant adjustments that are made to ensure everyone is accounted for and treated in a humane manner. Although the health system focuses on accommodating for everyone, there are many times that adolescents suffer due to their inability to make their own decisions in a health setting. Adolescents do not have the ability to make their own decisions towards their health without parental or guardian consents and many times they also base their final decision on the bias opinions of their physician or parent/guardians. Some important key concepts to understand when analyzing this issue is what paternalism and autonomy means. Autonomy is when a person can freely make their own decisions and paternalism is when someone disregards a person’s decision, and does not allow autonomy (Vaughn,71). It is important to realize that promoting adolescent autonomy at an early age allows adolescents to practice self-care and be well informed about medical procedures (Beacham & Deatrick, 2013). In order to prevent these issues from
Parents must discover ways to help teens learn to make decisions that minimize the potential harm to themselves and others, and parents must also gradually relinquish control and place increasing amounts of personal responsibility onto teens so that they become self-regulating.
First, most adolescents are not mature enough to make decisions that will change their lives forever. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius state, “Some older adolescents have the cognitive ability and capacity to reason similarly to an adult. However, neuroimaging studies have shown that the brain undergoes major reorganization during adolescence, particularly in the regions of the brain relating to executive functions” (qtd. in Christian Med.). In other words, the majority of teens lack maturity and wisdom to make life changing decisions (Christian Med.). In most situations, teens are desperate, and they make choices without thinking about the long- term consequences of their actions. If abortion is hard, enough in a grown woman imaging how it must be in a teenager with no one by her side to counsel and guide her. Imaging how confusing would be the mind of a fourteen years old girl going through an abortion without having her parents to tell her that everything will be fine. How can a fourteen years old girl handle that much stress?
Many may argue this topic of abortion and both have strong evidence on each side of the argument to say why they are correct and why you should agree with them; some people feel that teens should be allowed while others may disagree. This paper will focus on why teens should not be allowed to have abortions and the effects of it.
Critics of this issue believe that minors should not have the right to make their own medical decisions. As Kathryn Hickey states, “Adolescents may lack the moral responsibility, judgement, and experience to understand the outcome of their actions and decisions” (101). Because of the fact that minors are under the age of 18, they do not have enough experience to know the future effects of a certain treatment or other medical choice. This puts them in a lot of danger because one wrong not thought out choice from them could cause great harm to them. Minors do not have enough mental capacity to make a logical decision that puts into account future effects of the treatment they choose.
As we see in the world today many teens are becoming mothers before they finish high school or before they turn 18. Although some teens are on birth control already many are not because they are afraid to tell their parents which may lead to their parents thinking they are sexually active. Moreover, teens usually find themselves in a professional clinic trying to seek different options of birth control but they are derailed by having parental consent or notification. Many clinics have a policy were teen needs to have parental consent to receive birth control. Many parents feel that teens should be able to make the choice by themselves if they are having sex or just being careful. But the one question many parents are unable to agree upon is should teens be allowed to receive birth control without parental consent.
Teenagers are still kids. So basically we have a bunch of kids having kids which is insane. Teenagers aren’t ready to be parents until they have grown up themselves. Teens aren’t able to raise a steady family, they don’t have jobs, their children won’t have fathers, and they aren’t responsible enough for that yet. To be a parent you need discipline, education, and finances. Teens have none of that. The teenagers shouldn’t have to have all of that forced onto them at such an early age. What type of teen would give up friends, proms, their education, and their whole life just to change diapers, feed and take care of a baby. Teenagers already don’t like waking up early in the morning for school, so why would they to take care of a baby in the middle of the night? That’s just it, they wouldn’t. Teenagers are just too young to be having kids When their only kids. Teenage...
Some psychological disorders can appear during adolescence like depression and anxiety unless parents or family support them. Society can help adolescents during this turbulent time of growth by creating some programs in the schools for all teenagers who do not have support. Even those who have support like family or friends need to know they have someone else they can go talk to and be able express themselves. Adolescent years are very difficult and teenagers need lots of support.
There are some questions a patient 's doctor must be a secret, you can not tell a third party about the problem. Another example, if a teenager says to a doctor, "I am depressed, I have been trying to kill myself" ( "Youth confidential: a young person 's right to privacy"). Doctors are not sure of information, because the doctor is this guy right help. Teen confidentiality concerns may be an important barrier to access to health services. Adolescents have the right to contraception confidentiality when it comes to contraception.
There are many health issues and concerns for teenagers. Many health issues are related to illegal substances but everyday food is just as big of a danger. Obesity is sweeping the nation and its due to all of the amount of junk food, fast food, and sweets that are promoted and sold every day. In the United States the number of teenagers that are obese is increasing rapidly. 18% of teen from ages 12 to 19 are obese. That is tripling teen obesity in 1980. 30% of kids from ages 6 to 19 years old are obese. These statistics show a huge problem and it is growing faster than ever.
They need to support them and listen to their concerns. I have a lot of questions. Teenagers are so easily misunderstood, as they are in the middle of everything. They are almost adults, but do not have much. say, and are rarely listened to with respect.