Senior Project Debate Questions

Catherine Peer

1. Q- What is the most accurate way to define ‘best interest’

A- The dictionary defines best interest as “beneficial, advantageous, helpful for
someone,” however I believe we cannot define it with just these words. The best interest
of a patient is what would give them the best advantage on life. It could be interpretted in
many ways, but in the end the best interest of a patient is whatever decsion will give
them the greatest quality of life.
2. Q- How does maturity contribute to the ability of a minor to make their own medical
decisions?
A- A mature minor between the age of 16-18 should have the abilitiy to make their own
medical decisions. At that age, minors brains have developed enough that
decision-making should be a task that they can comprehend, so they should have a say in
what is happening to their own bodies. Obviously not all people in this age range are
mature enough to make these decisions on their own, but in terms of intelectual
development, decision-making abilities are developed. However some minors may lack
the emotional capability to make their own decisions.
3. Q- How do physicians decide whether to honor the patient’s decisions or the parent’s
wishes?
A- The physicians job is to keep in mind the autonamy of the patient, but legally they
must follow the wishes of the parents unless there are extenuating circumstances. If a
physician feels that the parent’s wishes are against the best interests of the child they can
bring that to attention and help mediate the situation.
4. Q- When would a parent make medical decisions against their child’s wishes?
A- If a parent and a child cannot agree upon the best route for medical treatment, a parent
may decide to overrule the child’s wishes and ask their physician to go through with a
medical treatment that the child does not want. Although this does not occur often, when
it does the child could be put in danger. No one should ever be forced to undergo medical
treatment against their wishes. Unusual circumstances do arise and it is important that
those minors are protected.
5. Q- What is ‘medical emacipation’?
A- Medical emacipation is “The legal authority of mature minors to consent to general
medical treatment.” Medical emacipation can give a minor the rights to go against their
parents medical decisions when a parent is obviously not looking out for the child’s best
intrest or if a minor is in danger.
6. Q- Who might make the decisions for a minor who is medically emacipated?
A- The person put in charge of a minor’s medical decisions after they are medically
emancipated can vary. It will often be an adult that obviously has the minor’s best intrest
in mind. This person must be impartial to the parent’s and the child’s decision but will
 usually side with the minor. It can be a grandparent, aunt or uncle, god-parent, or close
family friend. In some cases a minor may also be allowed to make their own decisions
especially if they are closer to being an adult.
7. Q- Why wouldn’t the parent and child just come up with a compromise in these
situations?
A- We’ve seen in the past that sometimes these in situations parents and children cannot
find common ground. They may have different ideas on what is in the child’s best interest
or may be letting their emotions cloud their judgement. In a perfect world, parents and
children would be able to compromise but this is not always the case.
8. Q- How could a decision going against the child’s wishes cause them harm?
A- If a child does not want a medical procedure, being forced to go through with it
anyway could cause the minor a great deal of emotional and possibly even physical harm.
A medical procedure that is not in the child’s best interest could end up physically
harming them or make them uncomfortable with their own body. However the emotional
toll could be just as detrimental as the physical harm. The emotional effects of being
forced to do something against their will can leave lasting marks on the minor’s life and
the effects of the procedure(s) can be something they have to live with forever.
9. Q- What is the best way for parents and children to fix these situations?
A-The most ideal way to alleviate these situations would be to find common ground.
When parents and children are able to compromise these problems can usually be fixed
pretty easily. In a perfect world, a compromise would take the values of the parents and
the children and use them to find a viable solution.