Should Children Be Allowed To Deny Medical Treatment For Children

Decisions regarding children’s medical treatment has always been a very controversial topic in the United States. The question has always been “Should children have the right to make medical decisions such as denying medical treatment?” Whether children should be able to deny medical treatment or not is entirely circumstantial. One circumstance in which children should have the right to deny medical treatment would be in the case of Jennifer Bush from Coral Springs. This young girl was only eight years old and she had already been hospitalized over 200 times and had undergone about 40 unnecessary and invasive procedures. These 40 procedures included things like the removal of her gallbladder, appendix, and part of her intestines. Due to Jennifer constantly being hospitalized she had missed much of her childhood and school. “The poignant letters Jennifer supposedly wrote the Clintons raised suspicions, too. Nurses told police the girl had missed so much school that she could barely read or write. One nurse said she saw Bush writing on a pad in "large, childlike handwriting." She quickly covered it when the

The 14 year old boy needed a blood transfusion but he did not want to receive one because of religious reasons. Dennis was a Jehovah`s witness and he believed that if he received a blood transfusion that it would make him unholy and unworthy. This case is one of few that a judge has approved for a child to deny medical treatment. ¨I don't believe Dennis` decision is the result of any coercion. He is mature and understands the consequences of his decision,¨ the judge said during the hearing.¨ (CBS News, 2007) The judge believed that Dennis was mature enough and that he understood the consequences of his decision. Dennis then refused the blood transfusion and unfortunately passed away after making this