Adolescent Parents and Medical Decision-Making
Creator
De Ville, Kenneth
Bibliographic Citation
Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. 1997 Jun; 22(3): 253-270.
Abstract
The growing phenomenon of teenage pregnancy introduces the problem of who should serve as surrogate decision makers for the children of adolescent parents. The justifications which sanction society's grant of presumptive decision making authority for adult parents, and the rationales and empirical evidence supporting a central role for adolescents who wish to make medical decisions regarding their own care, together suggest that older adolescent parents should be viewed as the presumptive decision makers for their children. There is, however, empirical evidence that adolescent parents lack the cognitive abilities of childless adolescents of the same age and that many exhibit lower levels of emotional stability, sensitivity to infant needs, and social adjustment. These deficiencies, where present, undermine the very justifications for allowing adolescents to make medical decisions for their children. These findings are strong enough to justify a greater level of watchfulness over the competency and decisions of those adolescents who wish to make decisions for their children, but not definitive enough to conclude that, as a group, they be presumed incapable of making those decisions.
Date
1997-06Subject
Adolescents; Adults; Age Factors; Autonomy; Child Abuse; Children; Competence; Comprehension; Consent; Decision Making; Dissent; Empirical Research; Family Members; Family Relationship; Infants; Informed Consent; Minors; Parent Child Relationship; Parental Consent; Parents; Physicians; Privacy; Professional Family Relationship; Pregnancy; Research; Standards; State Interest; Treatment Refusal; Values;
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