PARENTING AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF MINORS

The treatment decisions of competent adults, especially treatment refu sals, are generally respected. In the case of miners something turns o n their age, and older miners ought increasingly to make their own dec isions. On the other hand, parents decide on behalf of infants and you ng children, Their right to do so can best be justified in terms of th e importance of preserving intimate family relationships, rather than in terms of the child's best interests, although the child's best inte rests will most often follow from this arrangement. Nevertheless, ther e are and ought to be legal, ethical, and financial constraints on par ental decision making.