Coming of Age: Devising Legislation for Adolescent Medical Decision-Making

Abstract

A substantial segment of the American population consists of adolescents. Adolescents, defined as persons between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, have traditionally been regarded as “minors” by law. Minors, as a group, are legally disabled, meaning they are presumed to lack the skills necessary for capable decision-making. Capable decision-making is requisite to the exercise of legal rights. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has extended federal constitutional guarantees to minors, including the liberty right for decision-making in intimate, personal matters, the Supreme Court has observed that vulnerability impairs their decision-making capability. Accordingly, the law regulates decision-making liberties of minors far more extensively than those of adults.The underlying tenet of law governing adolescents—that they lack the skills required for capable decision-making—seems well-settled. It is an artifact from an industrial society that spawned legislation authorizing governmental regulation of adolescents for education and labor in order to protect and promote their health and well-being.