Consent for Emergency Medical Services for Children and Adolescents

Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine

doi:10.1542/peds.111.3.703

Article Figures & Data

Tables

View popup

TABLE 1.

Types of Minor Consent Statutes or Rules of Common Law That Allow for the Medical Treatment of a Minor Patient Without Parental Consent^{7,9,12,14–16}

Legal Exceptions to Informed Consent Requirement	Medical Care Setting
The “emergency” exception	Minor seeks emergency medical care.
The “emancipated minor” exception	Minor is self-reliant or independent: Married In military service Emancipated by court ruling Financially independent and living apart from parents
	In some states, college students, runaways, pregnant minors, or minor mothers also may be included.
The “mature minor” exception	Minor is capable of providing informed consent to the proposed medical or surgical treatment—generally a minor 14 y or older who is sufficiently mature and possesses the intelligence to understand and appreciate the benefits, risks, and alternatives of the proposed treatment and who is able to make a voluntary and rational choice. (In determining whether the mature minor exception applies, the physician must consider the nature and degree of risk of the proposed treatment and whether the proposed treatment is for the minor’s benefit, is necessary or elective, and is complex.)
Exceptions based on specific medical condition	Minor seeks: Mental health services Pregnancy and contraceptive services Testing or treatment for human immunodeficiency virus infection or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome Sexually transmitted or communicable disease testing and treatment Drug or alcohol dependency counseling and treatment Care for crime-related injury