C/L/87. The autonomy for children

This paper looks at the ways in which the government currently intervenes, through the medical profession and courts, in the way parents bring up their children. It looks specifically at two areas that show the invasiveness of the government in the relationship between parents and their children. The first area is when parents wish to refuse life saving medical treatment and courts order it to be carried out. The second is when adolescents seek contraceptive advice from doctors without the consent or knowledge of their parents.