Center for Health Care Ethics, Saint Louis University, 3545 Lafayette Ave., Salus Center, St. Louis, MO 63104, USA.
Theor Med Bioeth. 2012 Jun;33(3):179-98. doi: 10.1007/s11017-012-9219-z.
This article critically examines, and ultimately rejects, the best interest standard as the predominant, go-to ethical and legal standard of decision making for children. After an introduction to the presumption of parental authority, it characterizes and distinguishes six versions of the best interest standard according to two key dimensions related to the types of interests emphasized. Then the article brings three main criticisms against the best interest standard: (1) that it is ill-defined and inconsistently appealed to and applied, (2) that it is unreasonably demanding and narrow, and (3) that it fails to respect the family. Finally, it argues that despite the best interest standard's potent rhetorical power, it is irreparably encumbered by too much inconsistency and confusion and should be rejected.
本文批判性地审视了最佳利益标准，并最终否定了它作为儿童决策的主要、首选的伦理和法律标准的地位。在介绍了父母权威的假定之后，本文根据与强调的利益类型相关的两个关键维度，对最佳利益标准的六种变体进行了特征描述和区分。然后，本文提出了对最佳利益标准的三个主要批评：（1）它定义不明确，且不一致地被援引和应用；（2）它要求过高且狭隘；（3）它不尊重家庭。最后，本文认为，尽管最佳利益标准具有强大的修辞力量，但它由于过于不一致和混乱而受到不可挽回的阻碍，因此应该被拒绝。
