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How should we decide how to treat the child: harm versus best interests in cases of disagreement.

Archard, David; Cave, Emma; Brierley, Joe

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Authors

David Archard

Joe Brierley



Abstract

Where parents seek treatment for their young child that healthcare professionals cannot agree to, the High Court can determine what is in the child's best interests. Some activists and academics seek change to impose threshold criteria that would bolster the decision-making rights of parents and reduce deference to clinicians and the courts. We defend the best interests standard against arguments that a higher threshold of 'significant harm' should apply. We do so from ethical, legal, and clinical perspectives. The matter is of significant moral and practical importance, especially in light of the divergence of academic opinion, the burgeoning number of cases coming before the courts and recent case law and statutory attempts to effect change. We begin by disputing ethical claims that a significant harm threshold is preferable to the best interests standard, and then we set out jurisprudential and practical arguments that demonstrate the imprudence of a significant harm threshold and defend the established yardstick of best interests..]

Citation

Archard, D., Cave, E., & Brierley, J. (2024). How should we decide how to treat the child: harm versus best interests in cases of disagreement. Medical Law Review, 32(2), 158–177. https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwad040

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 16, 2023
Online Publication Date Dec 5, 2023
Publication Date 2024-03
Deposit Date Nov 17, 2023
Publicly Available Date Dec 12, 2023
Journal Medical Law Review
Print ISSN 0967-0742
Electronic ISSN 1464-3790
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 32
Issue 2
Pages 158–177
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwad040
Keywords Best interests, Treatment, Children’s rights, Parental rights, Child, Harm
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1931511

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