HEALTH LAW Minors ’ Refusal of Life-Saving Therapies

Rare but challenging are those cases in which teenagers, whether for religious or other reasons, refuse or seek to discontinue life-saving therapies. Unlike their adult counterparts, teenagers generally do not have the right to make their own medical decisions, and physicians, families, and sometimes the courts are left to make difficult choices that have implications for religious freedom, parental rights, and a child’s well-being alike. Three stories help illustrate the key considerations a court generally weighs when asked whether a teenager should be allowed to refuse life-saving therapies. Medical Decision Making: Minors and Adults Adults with decision-making capacity have a long-recognized and legally protected right to make decisions about their bodies and health, stemming from interest in their autonomy and bodily integrity. This is emphasized by famous cases like Cruzan v. Director Missouri Department of Health, in which the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a competent person’s “constitutionally protected liberty interest in refusing unwanted medical treatment ” and set the evidentiary standard for proving a