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such thing as a mature minor. The mature adolescent has the ability to understand risky
behavior, but not the emotional or cognitive control personally to refrain from such
behavior. In fact, the brain doesnt fully mature until age 21. The mature minor
standard for medical decision making ignores the scientific data and endangers children
(Cherry, 326). Parents are presumed to be these proxy decision makers, but is this always
the best choice for the childrens well being? In my opinion, no it is not because they
have too much of an emotional connection to lack a clear understanding of the situation
medically. Instead, it is suggested that the medical team have more of a say in what
would be best for the patient. From a medical perspective, which lacks an emotional
connection, the positives and negatives can be weighed in order to choose the treatment
that will be in the patients best interest.
Clare Clarke points out that parents can let their emotional connection get in the
way of making appropriate medical decisions for their children. In the article, although
the parents right to autonomy is considered, the medical team deemed treatment of Baby
L to be futile. Because the parents had an emotional connection to their baby, their love
made it impossible to allow their baby to die. As Clarke writes, Zawacki refers to this as a
side benefit where the parents benefit from keeping the baby alive instead of the patient
(or baby) getting the benefit. The parents would get the benefit in keeping Baby L alive
rather than Baby L himself getting the benefit. This then means that the parents are not
acting in their childrens best interest. It is suggesting by Halliday (1997) that the idea of
keeping a patient alive purely for the benefit of the family is repulsive (Clarke, 759).
Looking at Baby Ls best interest, it is wrong to allow the parents to continue treatment
for their own benefit and suggests that they lack the ability to let their baby die because
Proxy medical decision making is necessary for children under the age 18. Parents
are not always the best option for making those decisions though. The answer should not
be a mature minor standard where if the child is over the age 14, they can make their
own medical decisions without a proxy. Children lack the cognitive ability to reason out
and make these decisions until after the age of 18. There are a number of assumptions as
to why parents are the proxy decision makers for their children that are not clear enough.
Last, parents can let their emotional connection get in the way of the patients best
interest. As for the future of proxy decision making for children, it is necessary to appoint
someone who is capably of looking at what benefits the patient medically without
emotionally getting involved.
References
Cherry, M. J. (2013). Ignoring the Data and Endangering Children: Why the Mature
Minor Standard for Medical Decision Making Must Be Abandoned. Journal of
Medicine & Philosophy, 38(3), 315-331.