Thompson H A
Tex Med. 1989 Aug;85(8):56-9.
The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Nurses Association of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the National Medical Association recently released guidelines aimed at protecting the privacy of adolescent patients. The organizations stated that, in many cases, young people will not confide in health professionals if the young people feel that these discussions will be reported to their parents. Ultimately, the organizations said, health risks to adolescents are so impelling that legal barriers and deference to parental involvement should not stand in the way of needed health care. In Texas there is a statute regarding consent for medical treatment of minors, which responds to the above organizations' concerns about confidentially treating children for substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, and suicide prevention. However, the statute is silent in regard to medical treatment involving prescription contraceptives. By negative inference, the statute would preclude a minor on her own from making a decision about abortion. This article examines Texas statutes dealing with consent for medical treatment for minors and discusses US Supreme Court decisions on a minor's rights to abortions and contraceptives.
美国家庭医生学会、美国儿科学会、美国妇产科医师学会、美国妇产科医师学会护士协会以及美国国家医学协会近期发布了旨在保护青少年患者隐私的指导方针。这些组织表示，在很多情况下，如果年轻人觉得与健康专家的讨论内容会被告知其父母，他们就不会向这些专家吐露心声。这些组织最终指出，青少年面临的健康风险非常迫切，以至于法律障碍以及对父母参与的尊重不应阻碍必要的医疗保健。在得克萨斯州，有一项关于未成年人医疗同意的法规，该法规回应了上述组织对为儿童保密治疗药物滥用、性传播疾病以及预防自杀的担忧。然而，该法规在涉及处方避孕药的医疗方面却未作规定。通过反向推断，该法规会阻止未成年人自行做出堕胎决定。本文审视了得克萨斯州关于未成年人医疗同意的法规，并探讨了美国最高法院关于未成年人堕胎和使用避孕药权利的判决。
