Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Table of cases
- Table of statutes
- Table of statutory instruments
- Table of international instruments
- Part One Theoretical perspectives and international sources
- Part Two Promoting consultation and decision-making
- Part Three Children's rights and parents' powers
- 9 Children's rights versus family privacy – physical punishment and financial support
- 10 Parents' decisions and children's health rights
- 11 Educational rights for children in minority groups
- 12 Educational rights for children with disabilities
- 13 Children's right to know their parents – the significance of the blood tie
- 14 Children's right to know and be brought up by their parents
- 15 An abused child's right to state protection
- 16 Right to protection in state care and to state accountability
- 17 The right of abused children to protection by the criminal law
- 18 Protecting the rights of young offenders
- 19 Conclusion – themes and the way ahead
- Appendix I UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Appendix II Human Rights Act 1998
- Index
- References
10 - Parents' decisions and children's health rights
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Table of cases
- Table of statutes
- Table of statutory instruments
- Table of international instruments
- Part One Theoretical perspectives and international sources
- Part Two Promoting consultation and decision-making
- Part Three Children's rights and parents' powers
- 9 Children's rights versus family privacy – physical punishment and financial support
- 10 Parents' decisions and children's health rights
- 11 Educational rights for children in minority groups
- 12 Educational rights for children with disabilities
- 13 Children's right to know their parents – the significance of the blood tie
- 14 Children's right to know and be brought up by their parents
- 15 An abused child's right to state protection
- 16 Right to protection in state care and to state accountability
- 17 The right of abused children to protection by the criminal law
- 18 Protecting the rights of young offenders
- 19 Conclusion – themes and the way ahead
- Appendix I UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Appendix II Human Rights Act 1998
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognises that without good health, children have little hope of fulfilling their potential. Article 24(1) requires states to:
recognise the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to such health care services.
Article 3 requires anyone reaching a decision relating to a child to give primary consideration to his or her best interests and Article 6 requires states to recognise every child's right to life, and to promote their survival and development. These requirements should not be too onerous for the UK to fulfil, with its well-established health service and comparatively good hygiene and living conditions – better by far than those in many developing countries. Nevertheless, advances made by medical technology sometimes confront parents and doctors alike with difficult dilemmas over what is the appropriate decision to reach.
This assessment of the law is divided broadly into two sections. The first deals with the extent to which children's right to life can be endangered by decisions relating to their health. The second deals with the extent to which children's rights are jeopardised by medical procedures, which though not life-threatening, may damage their health, to a lesser or greater extent.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Children's Rights and the Developing Law , pp. 363 - 405Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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