Case Study - Ethics Issues versus Legal Issues

Provide your impression by responding to the questions below. This commentary should be at least 3 to 5 pages, with supporting references in APA format.

Should adolescents be allowed to make their own life and death decisions?

"A patient is brought to the emergency room after an accident. The physicians believe that he will die if he does not receive a blood transfusion, but he says that he is a Jehovah's Witness and will not accept blood. A cancer patient has undergone months of debilitating therapy with discouraging results, she says she does not want any more treatment. What if they were 15 or 16 years old? Would they have the same rights or could their wishes be overruled?

If there is one Golden Rule of contemporary bioethics, it is that competent adults are legally and ethically empowered to make health care decisions for themselves. Competent, in this context, means able to understand the choices and the consequences of the choices made. People base these decisions on values, preferences, personal experiences, religious beliefs, the availability of alternatives, level of pain and suffering, economic consequences, or any combination of these and other factors.

Except in unusual situations, parents are presumed to be in the best position to make these decisions for their children. Children, especially young children, are assumed to have neither the cognitive skills not the mature judgment to make complex choices that may have far-reaching health consequences. Parents share the consequences of the decision so they make decisions with the best interests of their children and themselves in mind.

But, adolescents are neither children nor fully mature adults. Where do they fit in this scheme?" (Levine, 2007, p. 164-165).

Reference

Levine, C. (2007). Taking sides: Clashing views on bioethical issues (12th ed.). Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin Publication Group.