As parents, we have our child’s best interests at heart. We work tirelessly to make sure that they are happy, healthy and well provided for. But what if, one day, we are faced with a heart breaking dilemma? After years of chemotherapy and six months of being in remission, we find out that the cancer our child had is back. At 15 years old, our son has spent half of his life in hospitals, undergoing one procedure after another and he has decided that enough is enough. He vehemently refuses any more chemo and wants only palliative care. On the other hand, as their parent, we want to fight the cancer. We are under the belief that if he beat it once, he can beat it again. What do we do? Do we force our child to undergo such a daunting medical …show more content…
Those exemptions are the mature minor, the emancipated minor and an emergency situation. With the mature minor exception, a minor can consent to obtain medical care without parental consent or notification if the court decides that the minor has the maturity to make independent decisions. A minor may also seek medical care without parental consent if he can convince the court that he is mature enough to act in his own best interest and thus make an independent judgment to consent to treatment. Once the court has decided that a minor is sufficiently mature enough to act in his own best interest and make an independent decision to consent to treatment, it is then unlawful for judicial permission to be withheld. The process is known as judicial bypass. Judicial bypass has regularly allowed minors another option to consent for care in states where parental notification or parental consent is required for adolescents seeking an abortion. In 1990, the Supreme Court ruled in that judicial bypass is constitutionally mandatory if state law requires parental notification or consent. Opponents of judicial bypass believes this process places an undue burden on adolescents seeking an abortion. The determination of maturity provides necessary authorization for a minor to exercise her right to privacy without …show more content…
These include the ability to consent to medical care, rent an apartment and enter into a contract. Once a minor is emancipated, they relinquish the right to parental support and are expected to support themselves. State statutes do vary; for example, in order to be emancipated in California, a minor must be at least 14 years old. However, in Montana, a minor will only by emancipated if the court finds that "the youth has graduated or will continue to diligently pursue graduation from high school, unless circumstances clearly compel deferral of education". Although state emancipated minors are able to make complex decisions, they are not exempt from all state age requirements; for example, they must be 18 years of age to
The minor's parent or legal guardian will provide the written consent required in the presen...
It was not until he was sixteen that a parole officer recommended he pursue legal emancipation. His freedom was finally granted at seventeen (Rupp 1&2). Emancipation is a court process that gives a teen legal independence from his or her parents or guardians and is granted adult civil rights except those prescribed by the law (Emancipation). Emancipated minors will not be automatically entitled to do certain things such as vote or legally drink alcoholic beverages. Though child abuse is one of the main reasons why children want to be emancipated, there are other reasons for children to want adult responsibilities.
...dical emergency where there is not time to wait for court overruling, the staff is not legally obligated to obtain parental permission; in this case two consultants should make an entry in the patient’s chart that procedure or transfusion was necessary to save the patient’s life. As a consequence and overruling from the court system, the state withdraws parental decision in order to protect and promote health of the child (Effa-Heap, 2009).
How can a child make the decision for the life of another child by themselves? In this paper I will outline the mental, physical, and safety issues of minors (age 18 and under) having an abortion and why it is so important that they need to get parental consent before making this life long decision.
Consent is known as the permission, or approval of a certain action. A current debate in today’s society is about consent during sexual relations. This is a very controversial subject due to the fact that there are so many different scenarios that come into play when you are talking about consent between parties. When discussing consent, there are many different topics that come into play depending on who you are talking to. In my opinion, one of the most important things that come into play when discussing this topic is respecting who you are with.
The questions for the courts to ponder evolve around the mental state of the juvenile, the potential for physical violence when placed in an adult prison environment, as well as the emotional impact of incarceration with an adult population. Steinberg L, Scott E, 2003).
Teenagers still should have the chance to grow up and to experience “love” and relationships without their life being jepordized by other parents because they are unhappy about their children's relationship. In other words, they should not be considered an “adult” because they really do not understand the law or what is actually going on in life. Twenty years of age would be more of an appropriate age that people can actually be considered an adult.
Recent developments in standard of care and professional relationship with patients have made law fundamental to the study and practice of nursing. At every stage of patients care, law helps bring up to date nursing practice and it is essential that nurses understand the legal and ethical implications of law in their nursing profession (Griffith and Tengrah, 2011). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the concept of consent in relation to the role of the nurse. This will aim at demonstrate ethical and legal implication of consent on nursing practice and professional working. In the Code (2008, cited in Griffith and Tengrah, 2011) the Nursing and Midwifery Council set standards for nursing professional to follow. Among the rules is the requirement of nurses to obtain consent before care is given.
Abortion is a topic that many don’t want to discuss. It’s a very personal decision that many women have to make each day, but in certain states, getting an abortion is becoming an even more difficult process. Not only did women have to decide to get an abortion, which alone is a difficult choice, they now had to wait 24 hours, minors had to get consent, and/or inform the father of the child. But after all of this process, what if a woman couldn’t receive all of this? Would she be denied her right to get an abortion?
Second, to ensure that parental rights are enforced; minors should need parental consent to obtain an abortion (Earll). Parents are legally responsible for the well-being of their children. They are responsible for giving th...
Believe it or not, one in three women have experienced being raped at a party while being intoxicated or unconscious. Because of the recent events involving sexual assault all over the world, many conversations and controversies have come to light, showing a disturbing lack of clarity about the topic of consent. Sexual assault is when someone is coerced into a sexual act or forced. Consent is when someone basically gives you permission or they agree to do something with you, in this case they agree to have sexual intercourse with you. But, if someone were to give you consent while they are intoxicated then that is actually not consent. With so many people not knowing what consent is or how to clarify it, a group of young people, ages 18 and
The same laws allow the teenagers to have an abortion but require parental notification or consent before carrying out the procedure. These laws prove biased as they favor one resolution over the other, as they force some to bear babies they do not want by restricting their options. Ethical Issues Abortion may appear ethical or unethical depending on various viewpoints and circumstances. The fetus is considered a person and bringing it to term may be unethical as the act is considered murder. In some situations, the mother may be required to terminate a pregnancy for her bodily autonomy (Johnston, 2003).
The idea of “the child” is constantly evolving, and children appear to be maturing more rapidly each year. As a response, laws pertaining to minors have had to keep up with these social changes. In the health care context, the competency of children is constantly scrutinized and challenged. Accordingly, reforms to past laws that deemed minors lacked decisional capacity have resulted in the “mature minor” doctrine. Although this doctrine allows minors a degree of independence in the decision-making process it maintains many grey areas. The age of consent is inconsistent across provinces and territories, and the guidelines used to assess competence are vague and sometimes arbitrary. With such inconsistency in the measuring of adolescent competence, it brings me to question the competence granted freely to adults. To rightfully judge competence there must be a prototype, something that I and others can form a explicit definition around. With what I have collected, since individuals gain decision-making autonomy when they reach the age of consent, than the defining characteristic of comp...
According to the Guttmacher Report on Public Policy, current laws in the United States of America indicate that minors under the age of eighteen, unless medically emancipated, must have the medical consent of their parent or parents before any health care decision can be made (Boonstra & Nash, 2000). These laws do not include health sensitive medical care like prescriptions for contraception, abortion of fetus, pregnancy care or drug addiction rehabilitation. Pediatric nurses are in a unique position that serves as the facilitator of patient care and patient care decision-making between the pediatric patient and the patient’s parents. In this position, pediatric nurses become immersed in the concept of family-centered care, and because of this, they often find themselves in situations fraught with ethical dilemmas. In health care, there are often times when the medical team and the patient disagree on the plan of care, but in pediatric health care, this becomes even more complex. This is because there are times where the decision made by the parents is deemed inappropriate by the health care team. What do you do if, as the caregiver, you do not agree with the decisions made for your patient by their surrogate decision-maker? It can be assumed that in most cases, parents only want what is best for their children. Research demonstrates, however, that parents do not always serve as the best voice for their child who is suffering, especially when the child is nearing the end of life. Is it ethical for the health care team to assume the role of decision-maker when disagreement ensues over the pediatric patient’s treatment course?
The abortion decision is often made by minors or young adults, who don't have the maturity and life experiences to make good decisions.