Minors And The Medical Decision Making

When the children are incapable, nurses have moral responsibility to assist parents in decision making in the children's best interest. "Substituting an adult judgement of what is in a child’s best interest is not necessarily equivalent with the child’s best interest (Coyne and Harder, 2011)." Acting in a child’s best interest requires parents and health professionals to take children's view seriously and give priority consideration to the impact of their decisions on children (Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children (CCRC). The adults have responsibilities towards their children to enable them in making decision but they do not have rights to make decision for their children (Lowden, 2002). Children should not be viewed as property. The first step in protecting the rights of children as outlined in the CRC is to view them as citizens (Van Daalen-Smith, 2010). When parents claim that the child belongs to them, they are establishing an ownership notion. Children should be respected as active contributor not as passive recipient of the health care (Maconochie and McNeill, 2010). Therefore, parental role in decision making for their children should be complementary not

The following scenario explores the legal and ethical decisions involved with a pediatric patient. A six year old boy suffering from Sickle cell anemia is brought to the hospital with a crisis. During a sickle cell anemia crisis, red blood cells are damaged and they are unable to deliver oxygen to the body. The standard treatment is oxygen, hydration, blood replacements and exchange transfusion (Anita, 2006). The pediatric patient was admitted in critical condition and a blood transfusion is necessary. Parents stated they want to save their child and will accept any type of treatment except for blood products.

How would you feel if the police arrested kids all over our country to jail for just crossing the street the wrong way or pushing another kid on the playground? That is what is happening to many underage juvenile all over the United States; they are being sent to adult prisons for crimes that do not deserve such severe punishments. Why they were tried as adults is an enigma and we will explain why this is a terrible injustice. In 1899 children in between the ages of 7-14 were believed they were incapable of committing criminal intent. The court system back then believed that if enough evidence could be gathered to convince a jury, the underage person would be convicted and sent to an adult prison. Currently in our state, persons as

If an organization has established care for a minor in an emergency situation and/or is needing a blood transfusion and the organization refuses to treat due to the parents or legal guardian being unavailable and consequently the minor dies or has irreversible disability the organization can be held criminally liable. The organization can be charged with negligence and/or medical malpractice if the plaintiff can prove the following elements: (1) a duty of care is owed to the patient; (2) a breach of this duty of care; (3) a causal connection between the breach of duty and the patient’s injury; and (4) damages (McWay, 2012).

Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative

The ethical issues involved in this topic include age limits, medical ethics, informed consent, and autonomy. It is unethical and immoral to allow adolescents to make their own medical decisions, because the judgment and capacity to make coherent decisions is unstable. However, adolescents should be involved and have a voice in the process of decision making, nonetheless I believe that the concluding medical decision should be made by the guardian and the doctor. An adolescent is between the ages of thirteen and nineteen. Society permits the legal determination of decision making for health care at the age of eighteen years. It is very important to consider developmental issues which will influence both reasoning and information processing, the brain not being fully developed causes a sense of a lost identity, and low self esteem challenges adolescents to develop a logical decision. An adolescent brain is not yet fully developed, the lack of grey matter and an

Between 1990 and 2010 the number of juveniles in adult jails went up by nearly 230%. Now about a tenth of confined young people are in an adult prison or jail. Minors shouldn’t be charged as adults, but it does make a little sense.

For years may people have debated whether or not juveniles should be tried as adults for serious crimes. The juvenile justice system was established in the year 1899(Long). Laws were first created to handle small cases such as truancy, shoplifting, and vandalism (Estudillo). Since 1993, at least 43 states have passed laws making it easier for children to be tried as adults (Estudillo). Juveniles should be tried as adults because by the time they’re about 12 they know that murder is wrong, if they’re grown up enough to kill someone then they’re old enough for adult consequences, and a lot of kids see the juvenile justice system as a way to get away with crime.

Many people are unsure of the rights granted to minors because of the laws in place, or the lack of laws in place. In fact there are laws, such as the Privacy Act of 1988 that could be a reason people are confused about the rights minors have to confidentiality. This act is directly described in a professional practice article when Bird (2007), stated that an adolescent’s health information can be released to a guardian, but in circumstances where a minor is capable of making their own medical decisions, they should be allowed to do so (p. 655). Bird further explained that “If an adolescent is able to consent to their own medical treatment, then they are

Juveniles can be tried as adults for crimes ranging from kidnapping, murder, rape, arson, robbery, torture, assault, and more. Some of the cases that are sent to adult court are petty crimes, such as: underage drinking, possession of a controlled substance, and other minor crimes. The question is whether they should be tried as adults. These are all adult actions, on one hand, and may lead a person to wonder what brought a child to commit these crimes. One might further inspect that if a child or teenager is engaged in so-called “adult” activities, what kind of activities might a child choose to be involved in adulthood? What is the child’s background? Can you blame the child of a heroin addict for having access to drugs at a young age? Can you blame the child of a murderer for acting out? Yes, everyone has a choice even a child.

“I used to believe are our future but now I realize that this, sadly isn’t the reality. Through laws that treat kids like adults, the government is throwing away the future of children in this country.” (D. Lee) An estimated 200,000 juveniles are tried as adults. The term juvenile refers to any young person under the age of 18. For most states in the United States, the age of majority is 18. While there are many things that juveniles are unable to do until they reach the age of 18, being charged as an adult for a crime is not amongst those things in some states. Juveniles are not allowed to vote, drink alcohol, or sign a legal contract, yet they can be charged and treated like adults when it comes to them being

There are many legal and ethical situations that healthcare providers will be faced with when providing medical treatment to either a child or an elderly adult. While there is often much discussion regarding the elderly and do not resuscitate orders, there are often times when the decisions for health care of a child may be overlooked. Some of the legal issues that may be faced by healthcare professionals are informed consent, confidentiality, reproductive services and child abuse. Patients have the right to decide what is done to their own bodies, but for children under eighteen, their parents decide for them. A major issue faced by healthcare professionals is parental refusal for treatment. Healthcare providers will be faced with many conflicting ethical and legal situations regarding refusal of a minor’s healthcare and treatment. These issues

The popular belief among our society has always been “Parents know what's best”. While their kids are young, parents know how to make their medical decisions for them. Parents 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. They’re 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 their parents make those choices.

The best possible resolution for this case would be to, first, to identify what Andrea would want to do for her end of life care. When her condition was deteriorating but before the cardiac arrest, the parents, social workers, nurses, and the physician should assess Andrea’s pain and suffering, asking her to express what she thinks she would want in the end. Harrison et al. (1997) supports this argument, claiming, “Parents and physicians should not exclude children and adolescents from decision making without persuasive reasons.” “Physicians should ensure that good decisions are made on behalf of their child patients” (as in Boetzkes & Waluchow, 2000, p. 163). It was also argued that, children of primary-school age, like Andrea, can participate in medical decisions, indicating their

Massachusetts have adopted the “ mature minor rule’, which entails, if a doctor believes the child is mature enough and able to give consent to medical care and it is in the best interest to the minor not to notify the minor’s parents, the doctor then may accept the minor’s consent.Minors may also consent to their own treatment for drug addiction , family planning services, or treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV or AIDS), if they are at least 12 years of age (M.G.L.A. c. 112 & 12E, c. 111 § 24E, and c. 111 § 117). A minor who is at least 16 years old may commit himself or herself for mental health treatment without parental consent. (M.G.L.A. c. 123 § 10). Emancipation can affect a minor’s status in contracts as