Proposals to give teenagers as young as 14 the right to consent to and refuse medical treatment have been criticised by the National Parents’ Council (NPC).
In a consultation paper to be published tonight, the Law Reform Commission (LRC) makes a number of provisional recommendations, including allowing teenagers aged 16 or 17 access to contraception and the entitlement to confidentiality.
One of the main recommendations is that 16- and 17-year-olds should be presumed to have full capacity, based on a functional test of understanding.
They should have the right to consent to, and refuse, medical treatment including surgery and have access to contraception, the paper states.
A child aged 14-16 could, subject to certain requirements, be regarded as capable of consenting to healthcare provided he or she had the capacity to understand the nature and consequences of the treatment.
But the NPC said today it had serious concerns about handing over decision-making powers in relation medical and health matters to 15-to 17-year-olds.
“Parents have an important role to play in the lives of children between the ages of 14 and 18,” NPC spokeswoman Rose Tully said.
However, she said “there was a lot of room for discussion” regarding the LRC proposals, and she recommended parents engage constructively with the consultation paper.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme, LRC president Judge Catherine McGuinness said there are a large number of 16- to 17-year-olds living adult lives, often separate from their parents, and who are anxious to have medical treatment in a confidential situation.
"Very often teenagers will not consult a doctor because they are afraid the doctor will go straight to their parents, and therefore they may not get treatment at all," she said.
To criticise the proposals on the grounds of thinking "every family is a perfect family with good understanding parents and children who always consult them is perhaps a little unrealistic," she said.
Labour Party senator Phil Prendergast, who operates a sexual health programme for schools, welcomed the commission’s proposals, saying “a teenager’s ability to make a mature choice should be respected”.
Ms Prendergast said: "Sexual activity among people is very prevalent and education about the consequence of sexual activity is important."
"Making an informed decision was better than reacting to an unforeseen event," she said.
Youth Work Ireland said while there may be "some sensitivities" in this area, the broad principle of involving young people in key decisions is an important one.
Describing the LRC paper as an important contribution to the deabte, group spokesman Michael McLoughlin: "We have to be conscious of the grave damage that was done to children and young people down the years by not allowing them to have say in decisions affecting them.
The commission recommends that, in the case of children aged 12-14, treatment should be available at their request, but it would be mandatory for the medical practitioner to notify the child’s parents. The conditions applicable to the older children would also apply here.
A child under 14 should not be considered capable of refusing consent to treatment.
The LRC's consultation paper on Children and the Law: Medical Treatment will be launched by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Barry Andrews, at the commission's offices this evening.