Guest Maple21 Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 HI I just wanted to check what the official age is for children/youth to make their own decisions about their healthcare. For example - can a 13 year old request something without informing thier parents? I think in some provinces it is 16 years old, which seems a little old. I think young teens can often make a good decision on their own (situation dependent) Also, what about rejecting treatment. I remember a case with a jehova's witness young girl refused a blood transfusion (influenced by faith/parents) and i believe the government ended up stepping in so that she had to receive it... not sure. Any thoughts? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DancingDoc Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 I remember learning in an ethics class that a committee can act on the child's behalf to decide that the child is mature enough to give medical consent to have/refuse a procedure...... anyone know more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grandmellon Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 There is no official age for consent in the province of ontario. A child can give consent if they are capable, understanding of the treatment and they are doing it voluntarily. In order to have capacity a person must be able to fully understand the information relevant to the decision (proposed treatment, the alternatives, the risks and benefits, the consequences of the alternatives and no treatment) they are making and must be able to appreciate the foreseeable consequences. People should have to right to choose what treatment they want and do not want. GM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pappy mckeys Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 To add to grandmellon's great summary: a child may be capable to consent to one treatment and not another. Which ones a child may consent to depend on the nature of the treatment and the child's understanding. Each situation must be assessed individually. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest satsumargirl Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 And I think in one of our classes I remember something like a "child" can consent of they are capable...but that if they refuse, then there is a call to the parents/legal guardian. So you have the right to consent to a treatment but not the right to refuse a treatment. That class we covered Ontario and Québec though, so I am not sure if that is Ontario or Québec or both. Québec did have an age but I don`t remember what it was exactly (14ish...must be online somewhere) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 24medgirl Posted March 23, 2006 Report Share Posted March 23, 2006 There is a table within the CMAJ Bioethics series for clinicians - Capacity, that has all the ages of consent for the provinces who have set an age. www.cmaj.ca/misc/bio_capacity_tab1.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TimmyMax Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 Hey, I'm pretty sure that the age of consent is 14 in Quebec. There is no "official" age of consent in Ontario. Hope this helps! Best of luck! Timmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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