Contraception proposal for teens sparks controversy
Tuesday December 22 2009
CONTROVERSIAL new proposals to allow teenagers to have access to contraception were last night described by the National Parents' Council as a "step too far".
The sweeping reforms would, if passed into law, allow young people below the legal age of consent of 17 to make their own medical and family planning decisions without the consent of their parents or guardians.
Under the new proposals 16- and 17-year-olds would be allowed to ask for or refuse medical and life-sustaining treatment, including surgery and contraception. They also recommend that 14- and 15-year-olds should be able to consent to and refuse medical treatment subject to certain conditions.
However, the reforms -- among 20 provisional recommendations put forward in a consultation paper by the Law Reform Commission (LRC) -- are certain to give rise to major issues of parental consent under the Constitution.
The paper, 'Children and the Law: Medical Treatment' will be launched tonight by Children's Minister Barry Andrews. The LRC said the document was aimed at ensuring that "mature teenagers" had their views fully taken into account when seeking medical treatment.
It would also provide clarity to health care professionals and families, it said.
Interest groups and the public are now invited to make submissions on the proposals by a March 31, 2010 deadline.
The consultation paper's main provisional recommendation is that 16 and 17-year-olds should be presumed to have full capacity to consent to and refuse medical treatment, including surgery and access to contraception.
And in the context of refusal of life-sustaining treatment, the commission is recommending that a 16-year-old may make an application to the High Court to have his or her proposed refusal appraised.
Consent
On 14- and 15-year-olds, it recommends they could be able to consent to and refuse medical treatment subject to certain conditions.
Other provisional recommendations propose that:
- It would be lawful for a health care professional to provide health care and medical treatment to a 12- and 13-year-old, subject to conditions.
- That all persons under 18 who are admitted and treated under the Mental Health Act 2001 should have access to an independent advocate and that a mental heath tribunal rather than the district court should review their admission and treatment.
Last night child law expert Geoffrey Shannon welcomed the proposals and said they reflected new guidelines only recently introduced by the Medical Council on profession conduct and ethics for doctors.
"The Medical Council guidelines have now moved towards a position that no longer have doctors to consult with parents or guardians if the child is over 16 years of age," he said.
The Dublin Well Woman Centre also welcomed the move. Medical director Dr Shirley McQuade said the proposals would bring clarity to an area over when it was appropriate to treat 16- and 17-year-olds without parental consent or knowledge.
However, the National Parents' Council Post-Primary (NPCPP) said the Law Reform Commission (LRC) proposals went too far.
While young people are not legally barred from buying contraceptives, Rose Tully of the NPCPP said it would be very important that parents would continue to have a say in major decisions affecting their children under the age of 18.
"We are talking about very major decisions being taken by very young people," she said.
"I believe it would be very important that parents would still have a say in what young people do under the age of 18."
- Fergus Black
Irish Independent
