At what age can a child make relevant decisions about his life? What if the disease he suffers is so important that he has to mature and grow in forced marches? Because in this story the easiest thing is to put ourselves in the skin of their parents, but can we put ourselves in the skin of the child?
His name is David, he is 12 years old, and he has decided not undergo chemotherapy treatment that could significantly increase the chances of surviving brain cancer. And as we read in El País, the court gives the reason.
You have already had surgery on your brain tumor
Since a brain tumor was detected, the plan was to intervene to remove, radiotherapy and end chemotherapy, with the intention that the three phases of the treatment had a success close to 75-80%. David has already been intervened and has also undergone radiotherapy, but it is now, when the last phase comes, when he has decided that he does not want to go through it and that he will opt for other solutions.
This third phase aims to prevent the growth of new tumor cells, if any. But he is afraid of the side effects he may suffer, and prefers to use alternative medicine.
Are you qualified to make decisions?
A personal medical decision can be reversed if the person making the decision is not in a position to choose what is best for himself, so the help of a psychiatrist is requested to determine if David is able to decide reasonably. According to the report, the boy perfectly understands his situation, the possible risks and benefits, and in this situation the judge has chosen to respect his wishes and your rights
Apparently, parents are divorced and have been discussing this issue for some time. The father is in favor of continuing with the treatments offered from the hospital, but the mother prefers to leave him and start looking for alternatives outside of traditional medicine. Given this situation, and seeing that the child has decided the latter, the father decided to take the case to court so that the treatment was not optional.
Your age allows you to decide
The psychiatrist who visited him concluded that David really wants to live, although he thinks about the possibility that he may die. However, he does not want to accept the consequences that chemotherapy can cause in his quality of life.
For his part, the judge concludes that, although he understands the father's reasons, the boy is already 12 years old and has the last word. And it is that in the laws there is an exception that says that children between 12 and 15 years have the power to make decisions about their future doctor.
And what is the risk of not undergoing treatment? Well, with chemotherapy it is estimated that the chances of survival are between 75% and 80%, without it they are 50%. This, of course, according to doctors, because it is possible that both the mother and the child believe that with alternative medicine they will achieve better results.
With respect to David, his age can be considered sufficient to make such a decision, and more if one considers that Sick children tend to mature differently than others. Or perhaps the laws should be modified by raising the age from which a child is considered capable of deciding on his life?
