Journal article 1511 views 597 downloads
Autonomy, age and sterilisation requests
Paddy McQueen 
Journal of Medical Ethics, Volume: 43, Issue: 5, Pages: 310 - 313
Swansea University Author:
Paddy McQueen
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DOI (Published version): 10.1136/medethics-2016-103664
Abstract
Requests for sterilisation made by young, childfree adults are often denied by doctors, even though sterilisation is legally available to individuals over the age of 18. A reason that doctors frequently give for withholding sterilisation is that the patient will later regret their decision. In this...
| Published in: | Journal of Medical Ethics |
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| ISSN: | 0306-6800 1473-4257 |
| Published: |
2017
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa48279 |
| Abstract: |
Requests for sterilisation made by young, childfree adults are often denied by doctors, even though sterilisation is legally available to individuals over the age of 18. A reason that doctors frequently give for withholding sterilisation is that the patient will later regret their decision. In this paper, I assess whether the possibility of future regret is a defensible reason for denying a sterilisation request. I argue that it is not. Consequently, decision-competent adults who have no desire to have children should have their requests agreed to. |
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| Keywords: |
Age; Autonomy; Medical decision-making; Regret; Voluntary sterilisation |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Issue: |
5 |
| Start Page: |
310 |
| End Page: |
313 |