Minor As 12 Years Old Essay

A minor is defined, in most states, as a person under the age of 18. Unless the minor is emancipated the person who has custody of that minor is legally responsible for that minor’s actions. So, why is it that a minor as young as 12 years old has the right to consent to certain medical treatments without a medical professional having to legally inform the parents or guardian? This is a law many parents find disturbing and would like to see changed, myself included.
First, we need to look at the law to understand the full extent of why so many parents are outraged over it. California law code 6926 states that a minor who is 12 years old or older has the right to consent to medical treatment if they have come into contact with an infectious, contagious, or communicable disease. A minor who is 12 years old or older can consent to medical treatment for a disease that has stemmed from

sexual activity. A minor is able to seek counseling services for drug- or alcohol-related problems without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian.
The law does state that a minor that is seeking treatment from doctors for, let’s just say a common cold or even a toothache, must have a parent present. From this we can see that a minor that is sick with a cold has to have a parent present, but if they were to contract an STD is allowed to seek treatment without a parent’s knowledge and/or consent. This, to a parent, seems backwards and can explain the outrage.
So, why should a minor as young as 12 year, not have the legal right to be able to walk into a place like Planned Parenthood or a doctor’s office and be given medication or treatment for a potential deadly and/or spreadable disease?

Parents should be aware that their minors are receiving medical treatment for any condition. While parent are raising their children they all hope that their child will be open and honest when these situations arise, but realistically that is not always the case. The majority of the time children are not mature enough to understand the severity of the situation that they are in. When they find themselves in an “adult” situation, such as finding out they have a sexually transmitted disease, they tend to act immaturely because of their age and all that runs through their minds is, “I have to hide this so that I do not get in trouble with mom or dad”. In a situation like this a parent should be made aware because a child that is 12 years old, in most states, is not even able to consent to sexually activity with a person that may be two or three years

older.
If a minor is sexually active and as a result have come across a sexually transmitted disease, and/or has a disease that needs to be cured, parents need to be made aware of the treatment that they are given. What if that minor is treated for some kind of sexually transmitted disease and something goes horribly wrong? They could have a bad reaction to medication and because their parents did not know they were taking this medication, have no idea why their child is having a hard time, let’s say, breathing. Parents of minors are able to provide specific medical conditions that their child may have, or have had in the past, to physicians. If the minor is even aware of a prior medical condition that they may have had, they may not want come forward a disclose it. For example, a minor could be suffering from depression and feels ashamed to tell anyone, if they are given medication that accelerates depression it could be bad. Whereas if a parent was involved than they would be able to disclose any medications that a child is on and/or any pre-existing conditions that the child has had.
We need to know if they are hiding an addiction that they are seeking help for, so that we do not enable this behavior. We all know that the worst thing you can do is give someone struggling with addiction money. If we as parents are unaware of this addiction and continue to give our child money we are feeding this addiction without even knowing it. If by law the person that the minor was seeking help from was legally responsible for telling the parents, not necessarily what is being said in these session, but that their child is there asking for help for an addiction, than the parent would be able to assist in the recovery process.
At the young age of 12, when they are not even considered mature enough to vote, drive a car, or even be out past 10 p.m., there are laws that state they are mature enough to give medical consent to some serious medical issues without involving the parent. This needs to change. If a minor is not considered an adult until the age of 18, than the law that allows them to have medical consent at as young as12 years old needs to be adjust to the age of 18. I should not take my son, who is 13, to the doctors and be asked to leave, unless he says it is okay for me to stay, when they are asking him question about having sexual contact with someone who may have had a sexually transmitted disease. We can all understand that these medical issues need to be taken care of, and in a hurry, but not before the parents are informed that their child is being treated medically. The doctor’s office, or wherever the minor is being seen, by law should have to notify a minor’s parent prior to giving them any medication and/or medical treatments. The law needs to be changed to state that until a child reaches the age of adulthood, unless they are emancipated, the parent or guardian must be informed of any medical conditions and/or treatments their child is given. If the parent is not willing to allow a minor to receive medical treatment for a disease that could lead to death and/or is life changing; the doctors or medical professional has the right to have the courts intervene.