MATURE MINORS MAKING MEDICAL DECISIONS

Abstract

This paper examines whether the United States should develop a formal process regulating whether a minor is sufficiently mature to make their own decisions regarding medical treatment. First, the paper discusses guidelines established by the American Bar Association for lawyers representing clients with diminished capacity and includes whether a minor should be categorized as such by default. Afterwards, it diverts its focus onto individual states, because currently, each state has the authority to create their own policy pertaining to minors’ bodily autonomy. There is an American common law policy called the Mature Minor Doctrine, which serves as a legal maturity test. I extensively analyzed a series of cases that used the Mature Minor Doctrine as the basis for the decision; A boy with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma created the policy for the state of Virginia; A girl with the same illness tried and failed to convince Connecticut to adopt the policy; Another girl with a medical malpractice suit created the policy for Tennessee; A court in New York refuses to adapt the Mature Minor Doctrine into state legislation after a boy refused a blood transfusion on the grounds it contravenes the religious beliefs of a Jehovah’s Witness. In conclusion, it is too difficult to implement standard guidelines for every jurisdiction, because each case will be based on the totality of the circumstances.