“The U.S. values religious freedom to the point where states are willing to grant parents the right to refuse even life-saving medical treatments for their children if the parents can show that there’s a religious tenet that would be violated by administering the treatment,” said Efthimios Parasidis, JD, a professor of law and public health at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Full Answer
Can a parent refuse life-saving medical treatment for a child?
Although the ability of a parent to consent to potentially life-saving medical therapy for a child is an established canon of family law,1 the outer boundaries of a parent’s right to refuse life-saving medical treatment for a child are ill-defined.
Are parents’ views and wishes relevant to medical treatment for children?
There are a number of reasons that parents’ views and wishes are ethically relevant to decisions about medical treatment for children. If we take those reasons into account, that suggests that whether or not treatment is provided for a child with a given health condition will vary from family to family.
Can parents refuse medical treatment based on religious beliefs?
Medical care is considered one of the most basic of all human needs, and yet parents may elect to apply religious or cul … Parents' refusal of medical treatment based on religious and/or cultural beliefs: the law, ethical principles, and clinical implications J Pediatr Nurs.
How should pediatricians treat families with religious or spiritual beliefs?
Pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists should respect families and their religious or spiritual beliefs and collaborate with them to develop treatment plans to promote their children’s health.
Can parents withhold life-saving treatment for their child?
Parents have the responsibility and authority to make medical decisions on behalf of their children. This includes the right to refuse or discontinue treatments, even those that may be life-sustaining.
Can a parent deny medical treatment to their child because of their religion?
Religious Beliefs are Not a Defense for Denying Treatment to a Child. Adults have the right to refuse their own medical care for religious or personal reasons. However, this legal right to refuse medical care does not extend to their children if it endangers the child's welfare.
Why should parents make medical decisions for their child?
Introduction: Parents/legal guardians are medical decision-makers for their minor children. Lack of parental capacity to appreciate the implications of the diagnosis and consequences of refusing recommended treatment may impede pediatric patients from receiving adequate medical care.
What if parents disagree on medical treatment?
Legal Options When Parents Disagree on Medical Decisions If there is shared decision-making regarding medical issues and both parents cannot come to an agreement, the court will examine the facts both parties put forth and determine what is in the best interest of the child.
What should a doctor do if a patient refuse life saving treatment for religious reasons?
Three physician experts suggest that to discern when to accommodate a patient's refusal of treatment on religious grounds, doctors should embrace medicine's traditional orientation toward preserving and restoring health.
What would you do if a parent refuses drugs for their child for religious or moral reasons?
If the patient is a child who lacks capacity to make a decision, and both parents16 refuse treatment on the grounds of their religious or moral beliefs, you must discuss their concerns and look for treatment options that will accommodate their beliefs.
Which legally allows parents to withhold life sustaining treatment from a terminally ill child?
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES Those two legal documents are 1) a living will or 2) the durable power of attorney. A living will must be properly witnessed by a notary, and allows the patient to state, in writing, that they do not wish to be kept alive by artificial means or heroic measures.
Should minors refuse medical treatment?
A mature minor is an adolescent younger than the age of majority. Such a minor can consent or refuse to consent to medical treatment if it is established that the minor is sufficiently mature to understand, discern and appreciate the benefits and risks of the proposed medical treatment.
What is the potential impact on a child's health by not taking appropriate treatment?
Effects of neglect problems with brain development. taking risks, like running away from home, using drugs and alcohol or breaking the law. getting into dangerous relationships. difficulty with relationships later in life, including with their own children.
Can doctors override parents decisions?
That is, because of the existence of an emergency, treatment is legally permissible, and the court does not need to adjudicate the best interest of the child in approving the physician's decision to override a parental refusal for treatment.
Do both parents have to agree on medication?
Solutions for Medication Disputes If one party has sole legal custody, then he or she has the exclusive right to make medical decisions for the children. If you have joint legal custody, then both parents must come to agreement on issues regarding medical decisions.
Should doctors override parents?
However, there are situations where doctors can disagree with a parent's decision if a child is in a severe medical dilemma. The parens patriae doctrine gives the state the right to intervene with a parent's decision when it's believed they are not acting in the best interest for the child's well-being.