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Medical Decisions

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Should adolescents have the right to make their own autonomous medical decisions?
The topic that will be researched is medical decision making, more specifically involved with the autonomous rights in adolescents, as well as their capacity to make there own medical decisions. This will include research about the ethics and the morals behind allowing adolescents to make there own medical decisions. I will also explore legal context involved including minor rights, and the legal extent of involvement the patient, the family, and the doctors are allowed. I will also research the emotional and psychological factors involved. More specifically how emotion and information processing is altered due to high stress situations caused by life threatening …show more content…

Life threatening illnesses result in altered mental status as it correlates with depression and anxiety. As autonomy and independence has increased, awareness has also increased, causing the topic to to be very controversial. Many physicians and physiatrists have voiced their opinions on what determines the mental capacity to make rational medical decisions without violating ethical and moral standards. Psychologist Dr.Horowitz explains that anxiety and depression impacts reason and information processing. Depression the patient's mental and physical state are all aspects that will prompt the patient to feel hopelessness and pain. Medication will also affect mental state, thus impacting the actual medical choices made. This is presented in a study conducted by Dr. Martin Stein shows that teenagers who are being treated for life-threatening illnesses have high rates of depression that may be amenable to treatment. This can be seen in a medical case of Jorge, a 13-year-old male, who was admitted and treated for the recurrence of acute lymphocytic leukemia. “The oncologist explained that Jorge’s only real chance at survival would require a bone marrow transplant. On returning home, Jorge announced to his parents that he would refuse the transplant and did not want to be placed on the list. His doctor noted that Jorge appeared to be very …show more content…

Understanding their illness, treatment, and situation completely is a huge part of being able to making a decision as substantial as their health. Adolescent capacity for intellectual reasoning is crucial in order to understand both the risks and benefits of a medical treatment. This is difficult for adolescents to achieve because of the lack of reasoning and maturity due to the brain not being fully developed at this stage. Evidence provided by scientist have discovered and identified that a specific region of the brain called the pre-frontal cortex, an area of the brain that controls reasoning, continues to change and develop until matured into adulthood (Harper Collins). The pre-frontal cortex affects understanding, and maturation. Scans of the brain show that adolescent brains function differently than those of adults when asked to solve problems, “Their actions are guided more by the emotional and reactive amygdala and less by the thoughtful, logical frontal cortex” (AACP). A brain that is not completely developed affects the capacity to make medical decision because it causes adolescents to lack judgement, reasoning, and the ability to completely understand the consequences of their

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