Focardi Martina, Pinchi Vilma, De Luca Federica, Norelli Gian-Aristide
Section of Forensic Medical Sciences, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy,
Int J Legal Med. 2014 May;128(3):515-22. doi: 10.1007/s00414-014-0986-0. Epub 2014 Mar 16.
Age assessment in children and young adults is a relevant medicolegal issue due to the gradual increase of persons devoid of proper identification documents in European countries. Because of the illegal immigration and growing crime rates among children and adolescents, age estimation for forensic purposes is often required. The scientific research and the extensive experience of forensic experts in the last decades focused on the use of radiographic methods addressed to evaluate the degree of skeletal or dental development as the most accurate parameters to estimate the chronological age of children and adolescents. This paper analyzes the ethical issues related to age estimation procedures based on radiographic methods, showing how the ethical principles of beneficence, nonmalevolence, justice, and autonomy may be guaranteed during the execution of the age assessment in forensic practice. The procedure might be conducted in accordance with international guidelines and protocols, though they need a higher homogenization and standardization. A strong collaboration between various scientific societies of professionals (forensic odontologists, forensic pathologists, forensic anthropologist, radiologists, pediatricians, and psychologists), who have been involved in age estimation for years, is needed to reach this goal.
由于欧洲国家无有效身份证件的人数逐渐增加，儿童和青年的年龄评估成为一个相关的法医学问题。由于非法移民以及儿童和青少年犯罪率不断上升，出于法医目的的年龄估计常常是必要的。在过去几十年里，科学研究以及法医专家的丰富经验聚焦于使用放射学方法来评估骨骼或牙齿的发育程度，将其作为估计儿童和青少年实际年龄的最准确参数。本文分析了基于放射学方法的年龄估计程序相关的伦理问题，展示了在法医实践中进行年龄评估时，如何保障行善、不伤害、公正和自主等伦理原则。该程序可按照国际指南和协议进行，不过它们需要更高程度的同质化和标准化。为实现这一目标，多年来一直参与年龄估计的各专业科学学会（法医牙科学专家、法医病理学家、法医人类学家、放射科医生、儿科医生和心理学家）之间需要紧密合作。
