title: Parenting and the best interests of minors.
abstract: The treatment decisions of competent adults, especially treatment refusals, are generally respected. In the case of minors something turns on their age, and older minors ought increasingly to make their own decisions. On the other hand, parents decide on behalf of infants and young children. Their right to do so can best be justified in terms of the importance of preserving intimate family relationships, rather than in terms of the child's best interests, although the child's best interests will most often follow from this arrangement. Nevertheless, there are and ought to be legal, ethical, and financial constraints on parental decision making.
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, University of Glasgow, Scotland.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Downie
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Randall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003657:Decision Making; D034462:Dissent and Disputes; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D033222:Judicial Role; D007872:Legal Guardians; D033242:Minors; D028681:Moral Obligations; D033282:Parental Consent; D010290:Parents; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D040841:Resource Allocation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012945:Social Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D016312:Treatment Refusal; D028761:Withholding Treatment