Medical ethics for children: applying the four principles to paediatrics

J Med Ethics. 2008 Mar;34(3):141-5. doi: 10.1136/jme.2006.018747.

Abstract

I will argue that there are difficulties with the application of the four principles approach to incompetent children. The most important principle - respect for autonomy - is not directly applicable to incompetent children and the most appropriate modification of the principle for them is not clear. The principle of beneficence - that one should act in the child's interests - is complicated by difficulties in assessing what a child's interests are and to which standard of interests those choosing for children should be held. A further problem with the four principles approach is that parental authority does not follow clearly from the four principles.

MeSH terms

  • Authoritarianism
  • Child
  • Child Advocacy / ethics*
  • England
  • Humans
  • Informed Consent / ethics*
  • Minors
  • Parent-Child Relations
  • Paternalism / ethics
  • Patient Rights / ethics*
  • Treatment Refusal / ethics
  • Treatment Refusal / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Vaccination / ethics