Public Health Law Map - Beta 5 - Medical and Public Health Law Site

litigation.
Most states allow a physician to treat a child who is suspected of being the victim of
abuse or neglect, without the consent of the parents. These laws also require that the
physician notify the proper authorities so that the case may be investigated and the
child protected if necessary.
Most states allow a child to be treated for communicable and venereal diseases
without parental permission. This treatment benefits the child and also helps prevent
the spread of disease in the community. This exception to the need for parental
consent is usually limited to diseases that are reportable under the state’s
communicable and venereal disease reporting laws. These diseases must be reported
and the child welfare agency notified in certain cases where the disease (such as
venereal disease in a young child) raises the suspicion of abuse.
Many states allow minors to seek treatment for alcohol and drug abuse without
parental permission. These laws may or may not require child welfare agencies to be
notified. Because of the prolonged nature of these treatments and the possibility of
hospitalization, it is usually impossible to carry out the treatment without involving
the parents. (Very few hospitals accept a minor without parental permission and a
guarantee of payment.) These laws are most valuable when dealing with runaways
and abandoned minors.
Pregnancy and childbirth pose the most legally difficult conflicts between the rights
of parents and those of their children. State laws differ greatly and are frequently
modified by U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The courts are attempting to balance the
rights of the minor to determine her own medical care, the rights of a parent to
control the medical care that a child receives, and the rights of the fetus. In general,
the laws allow and encourage pregnant minors to seek prenatal care. There is also a
more limited right to birth control information and devices. The most limited right is
abortion, which is discussed in separately.
7. Emancipated Minors
Most states have a legal proceeding that allows a person under the age of majority to
petition the court for full rights as an adult. This grant of adult rights is based on the
maturity of the minor and the minor’s need for adult status. This need is based on the
minor’s living alone or other factors that make it inappropriate for the minor’s
parents to retain control over the minor. Marriage usually qualifies the minor to
consent to medical care, as does service in the armed forces.
8. Interests of the Child versus the Parents
Parents are presumed to have the best interests of their children at heart. In many
cases, however, the values and interests of the child are not the same as those of the
parents. This becomes a critical issue when evaluating consent to treatment. This
problem becomes more common as children enter adolescence. Physicians who care
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