Submitted by crinadmin on
Teenagers aged 16 or 17 should have access to contraception and be entitled to confidentiality, according to the Law Reform Commission. The age of consent for sex is 17. In a consultation paper to be launched tonight by Minister of State for Children Barry Andrews, the commission proposes that 16- and 17-year-olds should be able to consent to and refuse medical treatment subject to certain conditions. The paper, dealing with legal issues around medical treatment for children, makes 20 provisional recommendations. These are aimed at ensuring mature teenagers have their views fully taken into account when seeking medical treatment and providing clarity to healthcare professionals and children. One of the main recommendations is that 16- and 17-year-olds should be presumed to have full capacity, based on a functional test of understanding. They should have the right to consent to, and refuse, medical treatment including surgery and have access to contraception, the paper states. Where life-sustaining treatment is involved and it is refused by a child of 16 or over, he or she should be able to make an application to the High Court to have the decision appraised, the commission proposes. It invites further submissions on the issue of life-sustaining treatment of children aged 16-18. The paper drew on a consultation day with 15-18-year-olds held last August with the help of the Ombudsman for Children. The commission proposes an incremental model for medical practitioners assessing the capacity of teenagers to consent to medical treatment, taking into account the evolving capacity of individuals under 17. When treating children, healthcare professionals should grant them the opportunity to express their views, and give those views due weight, depending on the age and maturity of the child, the commission recommends. A 16-year-old should be presumed to have capacity to consent to healthcare and medical treatment. A child aged 14-16 could, subject to certain requirements, be regarded as capable of consenting to healthcare provided he or she had the capacity to understand the nature and consequences of the treatment. The requirements include that the medical practitioner should encourage the child to inform his or her parents or guardians, must consider the best interests of the patient and have due regard to any public health concerns. This also applies to refusing treatment, according to the commission. It recommends that, in the case of children aged 12-14, treatment should be available at their request, but it would be mandatory for the medical practitioner to notify the child’s parents. The conditions applicable to the older children would also apply here. A child under 14 should not be considered capable of refusing consent to treatment. Further information
pdf: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/1222/1224261109950.htmlAssociation: Irish Times