In re a Teenager, 29 August 1988.
A physically healthy but severely mentally retarded handicapped girl, aged 15, sought through a "next friend" an injunction to prevent her parents from authorizing a doctor to perform a hysterectomy upon her. The parents sought the hysterectomy in order to prevent the onset of menstruation, which they believed would seriously affect her development and quality of life.  The Family Court of Australia dismissed the application for an injunction.  It rejected the argument that reasonable alternatives should be tried before the hysterectomy was performed. It held that parents have a right and duty to make major decisions about medical treatment, including major operations, whether their children are mentally retarded or not.  It ruled that a Court should interfere only in exceptional circumstances and that there was nothing warranting interference in this case.  It concluded that the benefits of the operation greatly outweighed the risks of the operation as well as the risks of alternative treatments.
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001315:Australia; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D005193:Family Planning Services; D013502:General Surgery; D013509:Gynecologic Surgical Procedures; D007044:Hysterectomy; D007603:Jurisprudence; D010139:Pacific Islands; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D013245:Sterilization, Reproductive; D013812:Therapeutics; D020458:Third-Party Consent
Adolescents; Adolescents, Female; Age Factors; Australia; Court Decision; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Family Planning; Gynecologic Surgery; Handicapped; Hysterectomy; Oceania; Parental Consent; Population; Population Characteristics; Sterilization, Sexual--legal aspects; Surgery; Treatment; Urogenital Surgery; Youth