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Is a 13 year old mature enough to...
Make his own decisions about whether he should be able to refuse medical treatment? I'm talking about a case here where a 13 year old is refusing chemotherapy.
http://www.twincities.com/ci_12326725?source=most_viewed
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1984 300TD |
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I'm watching my MIL going through that right now...
She's decided that there's not enough of her to make it through the whole process (her Drs. agree)...and it's not something that is easy to take...by any stretch of the imagination... To force an adult to take a therapy that's too hard for them to stand would be criminal... Why would it be any less so because it's being applied to a juvenile? If he/she is able to decide whether they want the procedure or not, they need to make sure their parents understand exactly what's going on...and the parents have to understand exactly what the child is experiencing...the pain and pain and more pain... Also, what's the chance of remission, let alone the complete cure of the disease altogether? If it's 100% and the cure won't kill the kid, it's worth fighting... But, if it's only going to give the kid and family another year or two together, then the comfort of the child should be paramount in the minds of the parents first, following the will of their child... Here's the bad part of this whole thing... We can sit here and type away what we feel should be done in these cases... What we should be doing is asking those that have really dealt with these issues on a one-to-one basis to tell us what happened and how really difficult it was in doing what they did. They are the experts...we're nothing more than arm-chair nar'-do-wells... Like I said earlier...my MIL is going down for the count...the cure was worse than the disease...but she decided that on her own and we have to live with that decision...not her living painfully with ours... Should it be any different for that 13yo?
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I think it depends on the 13 yr old and the reasons the child is giving. In reading the story, it seems that the reasons for foregoing the treatment all come from the mother and not the child. They are also not based on Mgburg's alternative of suffer painfully for a short period and then die, or just die. They're based on an unverified belief that the standard treatment of cancer is inadequate and 'alternative medical therapy' is better. I don't think a 13 yr old is in a position to make that kind of judgment. It's the parent's judgment, not the child that is at the basis of this decision. So in this instance, if I were the judge, I'd trump the 13 yr old.
If the child was making Mgburg's MIL's decision, I don't think I would trump the child.
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Thank you. When the child dies then mommy and daddy are going to sue the doctors because they let the kid die and Jesus didn't hear their prayers in time.
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So the kid doesn't want it. No biggie. One more dead kid is not an issue.
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It's bigger than whether the kid will die or not. It's whether or not a kid has the right to self determination and whether those rights are intrinsic or earned. Whose life is it and whose rights trump whose?
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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman |
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At 13, the issue to me is pretty clear. It is the parent's responsibility. If you don't feel they are adequate parents, take the kid away legally. If the decision screws up, charge them. IOW, if the kid dies, charge them.
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1984 300TD |
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What would indicate to you that a person is able to make their own decisions about their own lives then? I think it is quite possible that a 13 year old knows the difference between life and death, the difference between right and wrong, and the has the right to control their own destiny. Heck if we can charge kids as adults shouldn't we be able to allow them the ability to make their own decisions about medical treatment?
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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman |
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
#12
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Is a 13 year old mature enough to...
Yes and no. People mature at different rates.
Charges shouldn't be filed no matter the outcome though. |
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I have seen a lot of death. It is permanent. Like the Navajo say, "It's one of those things that cannopt be undone." The RESET button doesn't work here..... The issue then becomes, Can the child petition the court to make a decision? If yes, how do we make the child aware of his/her rights? Do we depend upon parents for this guidance? What if they are junkies? Or don't speak English? There is no easy answer. Each case must stand and fall on its own merits and circumstances, and we are ALL, including me, just speculating with a modicum of the facts, not all of them. So, no more from me on this subject.
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