PEDIATRICS Vol. 38 No. 3 September 1966, pp. 373-374
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INFORMED CONSENT

WILLIAM A. SILVERMAN M.D.1

1 Babies Hospital, 3975 Broadway, New York 32, New York

THE special position of infants and young children as subjects in therapeutic and non-therapeutic investigations is highlighted by recently renewed emphasis on the need to obtain formal consent, when (in the words of a National Institutes of Health memorandum) "procedures deviate from accepted medical practice." Who should act for the very young patient by giving consent based on informed understanding? Most codes for investigators specify that consent may be given only by parents or guardians. In these circumstances parents and guardians are forced into the role of arbiters required to make exceptionally difficult judgments in situations which increase in complexity each day that our knowledge increases.