News
No minimum age for consent for medical treatment
Catherine Turnbull 27/11/2008 10:09:00
A TORY politician, Mary Scanlon (pictured), has expressed shock to discover that there is no minimum age in Scotland for children to consent to medical treatment.
The Highlands and Islands MSP made her comments after she asked
parliamentary questions following the complaint last month by Stromness
mum Debbie Jones that her daughter Abigail, 13, was given the
anti-cervical cancer jab HPV without her consent.
Mrs Scanlon asked the Scottish Executive at what age young people can be given free contraception, including emergency contraception, without the knowledge of their parents.
Shona Robison, minister for public health, replied: "There is no minimum age in Scotland in terms of legal capacity to consent to medical treatment. The Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991 assigns various legal rights to young people including the legal capacity to consent to surgical, medical or dental procedure or treatment, should a medical doctor deem that they have capacity to do so.
"In terms of sexual health services, professionals will always encourage young people to involve their parents/carers or someone they can trust in decisions which they are facing."
Full story in Orkney Today