7 Thus, the court concluded that (1) where the need for life-sustaining medical treatment is or becomes an emergency while a nonterminally ill child is under a physician's care, and (2) where the child's parents refuse to consent to that treatment (ie, the situation Sydney Miller was in), a court order is not necessary to override parental refusal.
Full Answer
Can a court order override parental refusal of medical treatment?
Thus, the court concluded that (1) where the need for life-sustaining medical treatment is or becomes an emergency while a nonterminally ill child is under a physician's care, and (2) where the child's parents refuse to consent to that treatment (ie, the situation Sydney Miller was in), a court order is not necessary to override parental refusal.
Can a parent refuse medical treatment for their child?
Outside of these circumstances, parents have the right to consent or refuse medical treatment for their children. For example: If a child has a terminal condition and several doctors agree that treatment is no longer beneficial for the child, then the parents have the right to refuse treatment and seek hospice care for their child.
Who has the right to decide when a child needs medical treatment?
When a doctor has advised that a child needs to undergo a medical procedure/treatment, those who have parental responsibility for the child ordinarily have the right to decide whether or not to go ahead.
Can doctors and parents disagree about a child’s medical treatment?
Doctors and parents sometimes disagree about a child’s medical treatment. As the recent case of six-year-old boy Oshin Kiszko highlights, some disagreements between doctors and parents can’t be resolved by further information and discussion. Oshin has brain cancer.
What was the dissenting opinion of the Millers?
The dissenting opinion suggested that the doctors and medical personnel decided to resuscitate Sydney, knowing the Millers were there and could be consulted for their consent; and that the situation was not a medical emergency , allowing the physicians to proceed with treatment without the Millers' consent.
What was the Millers case?
The Millers filed a lawsuit against HCA, Inc, HCA-Hospital Corporation of America, Hospital Corporation of America, and Columbia/HCA Health Care Corporation (collect ively "HCA"), asserting that they were liable for the actions of their subsidiary hospital. Based on a negligence theory, the Millers asserted that HCA was liable for treating their daughter, Sydney Miller, without their consent, and second, for having a policy that mandated the resuscitation of newborn infants weighing more than 500 g. The Millers also asserted that HCA was directly liable for not preventing such treatment without consent. Based on the jury's findings, the trial court entered judgment in favor of the Millers in the amount of $29.4 million in past and future medical expenses, $13.5 million in punitive damages, and $17.5 million in prejudgment interest. HCA appealed.
What are the rights of parents when refusing medical treatment?
Legal rights of parents when refusing medical treatment for children. When a doctor has advised that a child needs to undergo a medical procedure/treatment, those who have parental responsibility for the child ordinarily have the right to decide whether or not to go ahead. However, parents do not have an absolute or irrefutable right ...
Why do parents not consent to surgery?
This is often the case where parents do not consent to surgery for religious reasons or simply because they do not understand the advice the medical practitioners are giving, although doctors can only normally go ahead without recourse to the Courts if there is a risk the patient will die.
Can a local NHS trust apply to the High Court for an order that treatment will proceed despite the objections of
Thirdly, the local NHS Trust can apply to the High Court for an order that treatment will proceed despite the objections of parents . This can happen if medical practitioners believe a child will suffer significant harm if they do not undergo treatment and the parents of the child in question do not consent.
Do parents have the right to ask for a second opinion?
Parents do always have a right to ask for a second opinion, however. There is clearly more chance of the High Court requiring treatment to take place if that second opinion endorses the medical advice in question.
Do children have the right to decide for themselves?
In English law, children do not legally have an absolute right to decide for themselves whether to accept treatment. Older children, who have not yet reached the age of 18, can be deemed to have “Gillick competence”, which can enable them to override their parents’ views.
Can a doctor overrule a parent?
The second set of circumstances in which parents can be overruled by medics concerns matters of life and death. It is recognised in English law that doctors can simply administer life-saving treatment when a minor patient or a patient without capacity refuses, or the parents of a child patient have refused to follow medical advice .
What is the right to treatment?
There is a long legal history on the right to treatment. Much of the law derives from court cases in the previous century involving people who were admitted to state psychiatric hospitals where they languished without proper treatment, sometimes for many years. Laws compelling a right-to-treatment law developed and became instrumental to the quality-controlled public psychiatric hospitals that exist today. In fact, in order for public psychiatric hospitals to receive Medicare and Medicaid (and other third-party) payment, they must obtain the same national certification as academic medical centers and local community hospitals. For patients and families, this means that a person admitted to a public psychiatric hospital has a right to receive—and should receive—the standard of care delivered in any accredited psychiatric setting.
What does it mean to be admitted to a public psychiatric hospital?
For patients and families, this means that a person admitted to a public psychiatric hospital has a right to receive—and should receive—the standard of care delivered in any accredited psychiatric setting.
What is involuntary treatment?
For involuntary treatment (treatment without consent ) to be delivered outside of an acute emergency, the doctor and hospital must petition a court to order it. Laws vary from state to state and, of course, no two judges are alike. Generally, judges rule in favor of well-prepared doctors and hospitals that show that.
How long does an inpatient stay last?
Inpatient stays often last several weeks (or months) longer if court-ordered treatment is required. Notably, as clinicians have seen, once a court order is obtained, almost all patients comply with treatment within a day or so, and then, hopefully, proceed to respond to treatment.
Do patients have the right to refuse treatment?
All patients have both a right to treatment and a right to refuse treatment. These rights sometimes become the centerpiece of debate and dispute for people who are hospitalized with an acute psychiatric illness.
Can insurance refuse to pay for treatment?
Unfortunately, the right to refuse treatment can, and does, result in some patients being locked up in a hospital where doctors then cannot proceed with treatment. What’s worse, and deeply ironic, is that insurance companies may refuse to pay, stating there is “no active treatment.”.
Do psychiatric hospitals have insurance?
This state of financial affairs, by and large, does not happen in state psychiatric hospitals, which represent the true safety net of services for people with serious and persistent mental illnesses, because these hospitals are not wholly dependent on insurance payment and cannot refuse to treat someone who cannot pay.
What happens if a parent refuses medical care for a minor?
When parents refuse necessary or life-saving care for their child, they could face serious legal consequences as well. States often refer to this as medical neglect and have laws against it.
Who can report medical decisions to parents?
In most states, anyone can report parents for their medical decision making regarding their children, including: The child. Doctors, nurses, or other medical staff. Social workers or counselors.
What happens if a parent is convicted of child abuse?
Parents convicted of these criminal charges may also lose custody of their parental rights.
What are the decisions parents make when their child is sick?
When a child is sick, parents need to decide when to see a physician or agree to a course of treatment. Other medical decisions are preventative, such as whether to vaccinate a healthy child. What seems like an easy decision for one parent is often a difficult decision ...
What is the expected outcome of a child's treatment?
The expected outcome of that treatment is a relatively normal life with a reasonably good quality of life. The child would die without the treatment. The parent is refusing to grant consent for the treatment.
Can a child refuse medical care?
However, this legal right to refuse medical care does not extend to their children if it endangers the child’s welfare. Under the law, children are entitled to protection and appropriate medical treatment despite their parents’ religious views.
Can a parent refuse hospice care?
For example: If a child has a terminal condition and several doctors agree that treatment is no longer beneficial for the child, then the parents have the right to refuse treatment and seek hospice care for their child.
What happens if a parent refuses care?
A parent who refuses care based on an objection to treatment, whatever the basis, is just as likely to have the state intervene to make medical decisions as a parent who is not physically able to provide care or not mentally capable of making decisions.
What is the end result of a court battle over the provision of medical treatment?
The end result of a court battle over the provision of medical treatment depends on the type of objection—religious or secular, the proposed treatment and the prognosis for survival with and without treatment. Religious objection to standard medical therapy is often legally valid when the treatment is more likely to fail than succeed. Respect for religion has forced courts to recognize that medical decisions are not always scientific—many people rely on faith to heal them. On the other hand, the right to refuse treatment based on religious objection is not absolute. In cases where adherence to religious tenets that prohibit standard, life-saving care, e.g., blood transfusion, would almost certainly lead to a child’s death, the courts have decided that parents cannot make martyrs of children who are too young to have consented to embrace the faith.
What therapy did the parents use for Leukemia?
Thereafter, his parents discontinued his medications and the leukemia recurred. The parents sought to supplement their child’s chemotherapy with metabolic therapy, including laetrile. Both the parents and the state introduced expert testimony pertaining to the safety and efficacy of laetrile.
What is the inquiry into parental competence to provide medical care for a child?
The law’s inquiry into parental competence to provide medical care for a child does not stop at assessing their physical and mental ability to do so; it also examines their willingness to make medically appropriate decisions. The decision of a physically and mentally competent parent to pursue a particular path of treatment may, for example, ...
What is the legal competence to make medical decisions for children?
It is important to remember that legal competence to make medical decisions for children is not just about physical or mental capacity; it is also about making appropriate, best-interest decisions. Medical neglect statutes examine whether appropriate care was provided, not how it was provided. A parent who refuses care based on an objection ...
What does "neglected child" mean in Illinois?
For example, the Illinois Compiled Statutes define “neglected child” to exclude a child whose “parent or other person responsible for his or her welfare depends upon spiritual means through prayer alone for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial care…” 325 ILCS 5/3 (2006).
What is the purpose of balancing process in medical decisions?
For medical decisions, mental or physical health will always be at stake, so a different balancing process must be employed to ensure that the state carries out its duty to protect its citizens but does not infringe on the rights granted to individuals by the First Amendment to the Constitution.
What is the ethical dilemma of parents refusing treatment for their child?
Striking the right balance. Parents refusing treatment for their child is one type of situation for which doctors seek clinical ethics advice in paediatric hospitals. Although clinical ethics support services are widespread and longstanding in the United States and United Kingdom, in Australia they are in their infancy.
Why do parents refuse blood transfusions?
In one case, parents declined artificial feeding for an undernourished child with a disability, preferring the child remained lighter for lifting. And in other instances, parents of children ...
What is the outer boundary of parental discretion?
The outer boundary of the zone of parental discretion is harm to the child. Parents are not ethically entitled to choose options that may harm the child.
What is parental decision making?
Parental decision-making often involves weighing up the interests of different family members. from shutterstock.com. Traditionally, clinicians have thought in terms of the child’s best interests when deciding how to respond when parents disagree with their recommendations.
Why do Oshin's parents want him to be palliative?
His doctors believe he should receive treatment aimed at curing his disease, while Oshin’s parents believe the potential benefits of treatment don’t justify side-effects and other negative outcomes for their son, such as the possibility of long-term health issues . They want Oshin to receive only palliative care to ensure his comfort in ...
What are the problems with child well being?
First, a child’s well-being is made up of different elements, such as being free from pain, having a long lifespan, having meaningful relationships and being able to play.
Can parents make medical decisions?
But the parental right to make medical decisions is not unlimited. Their decision-making role is sometimes questioned when they don’t agree with the recommended treatment for their child. There are many ways in which parents may do this. They might, for example, decline diagnostic testing they perceive as unnecessary.
