Ethical questions in adolescent contraception.

Ethical problems often revolve around the conflicts of the models of beneficence and autonomy. Adolescents present a particular complication in their own struggle for autonomy. The physician is confronted with the further dilemma of sorting out the role of parents and the role of the adolescent patient in decision making. Furthermore, as adolescents develop their own moral code, they may lack consistency in their actions and opinions. The physician must examine the total context in arriving at a decision. The prescription of contraception is taken as an example of a common ethical dilemma.