CHILDREN WHO WITHDREW CONSENT FOR ELECTIVE SURGERY

Parents and legal guardians have authority to consent to medical treat ment on behalf of miners. Recently, the concept of emerging competence has been popularized, whereby a child may achieve sufficient understa nding and maturity to enable him/her to make a wise choice in his/her own interests. Although there are undoubted merits in involving childr en in their medical treatment, the ultimate legal authority for consen t rests with parents and guardians acting on the advice of doctors and in the child's best interests. We describe two cases in which childre n withdrew their consent to elective surgery, despite the help and enc ouragement of their parents and doctors. Surgery was cancelled rather than use force to induce anaesthesia. In practice, it seems that a chi ld must demonstrate a greater maturity and understanding to refuse med ical treatment than to agree to it. Some advice is given to clinicians facing similar situations.