What happens when parents and children have conflicting opinions about treatment

Question

What happens when parents and children have conflicting opinions about treatment?

Can a parent refuse lifesaving medical treatment for his/her child? Why or why not, explain your position.

How old does a child have to be to make their own medical decisions? Explain why you agree or disagree.

Can healthcare professionals override parental decision to withhold medical treatment? Should healthcare professionals be able to override parental decisions to withhold medical treatment?

Should parents be allowed to refuse medical treatment for their child?

Should minors be allowed consent to the follow services without parental notification: contraceptive services, testing and services for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, prenatal care and delivery services. Treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, mental health care.

Try to discuss each question including pros and cons, legality in California, moral and ethical concerns and your role in the health care industry in relation to these issues. 2000 word minimum.

Explanation / Answer

A parent can refuse a medical treatment for his/her child depending on high intense the condition is. If it is a condition where an infant will not have much of a problem coping up with a regular life, then the parents might as well refuse a medical treatment. Medical treatment on young children is often risky. Perhaps it is one of the major reasons why parents refuse to resort to medical treatment.

A child has to be 14-17 years old to make their own medical decision. However, for instance, a parent needs to make the decision about whether to give cochlear implants to their baby who has sensory neural deafness or should the decision be left for the child to make when he/she becomes an adult at age 18. This is a serious debatable issue.

Cochlear implant is a medical device that is used to alter the damage caused to the inner ear which disables a person from hearing. Such individuals are hard of hearing. Cochlear implants don't magnify the sounds in the environment for better hearing, instead they bypass the hair cells of the inner ear (cochlea) to provide sound signals to the brain. I reckon, the parents must make the decision of whether or not to to give cochlear implants to babies or young children who have sensory neural deafness. If the decision is left to the child until he becomes an adult, it'll be too late by then. The child would have spent most of his years, not being able to hear. At least the cochlear implants at an early age would give the child the ability and liberty to hear sounds.

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