Evaluating an Adolescent ’s Decision-Making Capacity Whilst in the Harsh World of Detention

We present an amalgamated case of a fourteen-year-old adolescent who refused to consent to medical reversal of her hunger strike protest. The medical team became the final arbiter when her parents, who were also in detention, could not agree with each other even after mediation. The case explores the complexity of evaluating the adolescent’s capacity to provide informed consent while influenced by the opinions of co-detainees in this extreme setting. We argue that the parents and the child had compromised decisional capacity due to the effects of detenti on. The challenges to the medical team are recognized and discussed. The team members faced a difficult dilemma and considered the competing values of the multiple cultural and ethical factors. Each team member integrated his or her own roles, duties, and discipline-specific professional guidelines with the primary goal of mitigating potential harms.
Source: Journal of Bioethical Inquiry - Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research