Children having children: Medical decision-making by, with, and for pregnant early adolescents

Semin Perinatol. 2016 Feb 22. pii: S0146-0005(15)00205-0. doi: 10.1053/j.semperi.2015.12.013. [Epub ahead of print]

Pediatric obstetrical ethics: Medical decision-making by, with, and for pregnant early adolescents.

Mercurio MR1.

Author information

• 1Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Electronic address: mark.mercurio@yale.edu.

Abstract

Pregnancy in an early adolescent carries with it specific ethical considerations, in some ways different from pregnancy in an adult and from medical care of a non-pregnant adolescent. Obstetrical ethics emphasizes the right of the patient to autonomy and bodily integrity, including the right to refuse medical intervention. Pediatric ethics recognizes the right of parents, within limits, to make medical decisions for their children, and the right of a child to receive medical or surgical interventions likely to be of benefit to her, sometimes over her own objections. As the child gets older, and particularly during the years of adolescence, there is also a recognition of the right to an increasingly prominent role in decisions about her own healthcare. Pediatric obstetrical ethics, referring to ethical decisions made by, with, and for pregnant early adolescents, represents the intersection of these different cultures. Principles and approaches from both obstetrical and pediatric ethics, as well as a unified understanding of rights, obligations, and practical considerations, will be needed.