JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN - THE CHILD AS ORGAN DONOR

I argue that parents ought to be allowed to authorize their child's pa rticipation as an organ donor for another family member. I introduce a model of decision making for children in intimate families which I ca ll Constrained Parental Autonomy. This model permits wide parental dis cretion which is constrained absolutely by a broadly defined principle of respect for persons. In general, parental authorization alone is s ufficient but I argue that the respect for persons constraint prevents certain donations and requires the child's assent for other donations . I also consider two controversial implications of the application of this model: the objection that the model does not respect the child's right to bodily integrity, and the objection that the model does not and is unable to address intrafamilial disgreement.