Should parents be able to deny medical treatment to their child? - General

We sometimes see on TV a new controversy because some religious nutjob deny medical treatment to their child because prayer or some other bullshit will cure them. It could be anything from not allowing blood donations to believing that prayer will cure cancer. I personally think its fucking ridiculous that a parent can do that, or be allowed to do that. Medical treatment for a child should be done for the safety of a child and not in the interest of parents and their beliefs. Children shouldn't be able to say no to medicine either Discuss Facepunch

Parents should not be able to deny medical treatment, if there was no logical or rational reason behind it. Religion or anyother "belief" should not be counted as a logical or a rational reason, it's wrong to make your child suffer because of your beliefs.

Parents should not have the right to do something that may be harmful for the child. Denying them medical treatment is child abuse and should be treated as such.

No, they shouldn't be able to force it if the child is deemed to be of sound mind either. (Say the kid was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the doctors said chemo only has something like a 15% chance of working, the parents shouldn't be able to force the child to undergo the treatment)

[QUOTE=Zeke129;32635101]No, they shouldn't be able to force it if the child is deemed to be of sound mind either. (Say the kid was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and the doctors said chemo only has something like a 15% chance of working, the parents shouldn't be able to force the child to undergo the treatment)[/QUOTE] Minors have limited rights and it falls on the legal guardian to provide care for them. Not taking them even if they don't want to go is child abuse in my eyes.

[QUOTE=ryfry99;32635198]Minors have limited rights and it falls on the legal guardian to provide care for them. Not taking them even if they don't want to go is child abuse in my eyes.[/QUOTE] This is an agree button

What if they had 2 children and to accept medical treatment for one, they'd have to pay huge amounts that they could not afford and leave the other child (and the whole family) disadvantaged?

[QUOTE=Jabberwocky;32635210]What if they had 2 children and to accept medical treatment for one, they'd have to pay huge amounts that they could not afford and leave the other child (and the whole family) disadvantaged?[/QUOTE] Isn't there support funds for that kind of situations? Also another reason why [I]"commie welfare"[/I] (paid over the taxes) is a good thing

[QUOTE=Jabberwocky;32635210]What if they had 2 children and to accept medical treatment for one, they'd have to pay huge amounts that they could not afford and leave the other child (and the whole family) disadvantaged?[/QUOTE] In some ways I can understand not having universal healthcare, an adult should be responsible and get some healthcare (something I don't agree with, I believe in universal healthcare like we have in Australia). But denying a child medical treatment because their parents where dumb enough not to get insurance is fucked up

I am so happy we have universal healthcare. I think it's pretty twisted to force your child to suffer due to said medical treatment going against your personal beliefs. I mean if you are rejecting the treatment for yourself that's one thing but making the choice for your child that could result in their death? I don't see how a parent could put religious beliefs over saving their child's life. I guess you have to be really devout to get that logic and I am agnostic.

[QUOTE=ksenior;32635269]In some ways I can understand not having universal healthcare, an adult should be responsible and get some healthcare (something I don't agree with, I believe in universal healthcare like we have in Australia). But denying a child medical treatment because their parents where dumb enough not to get insurance is fucked up[/QUOTE] Well sometimes you can't afford insurance. What if you get denied it for whatever reason? Regardless of how healthcare should work, should a parent be forced to pay for a treatment and as a result cause the family to suffer for it? What if that treatment had a moderate chance of failure?

[QUOTE=Jabberwocky;32635947]Well sometimes you can't afford insurance. What if you get denied it for whatever reason? Regardless of how healthcare should work, should a parent be forced to pay for a treatment and as a result cause the family to suffer for it? What if that treatment had a moderate chance of failure?[/QUOTE] Uhh, what?

[QUOTE=ksenior;32636072]Uhh, what?[/QUOTE] How is that hard to understand? What he's saying is there's stipulations that could easily prevent someone from being able to get insurance, no matter how hard they want to be that responsible citizen. Also, the fact that no operation is a guarantee, realistically you could be saying "take my $100,000 to kill me on the operating table." It's an unfortunate truth.

[QUOTE=HawkeyeTy;32636091]How is that hard to understand? What he's saying is there's stipulations that could easily prevent someone from being able to get insurance, no matter how hard they want to be that responsible citizen. Also, the fact that no operation is a guarantee, realistically you could be saying "take my $100,000 to kill me on the operating table." It's an unfortunate truth.[/QUOTE] Maybe it has something to do with agreeing and disagreeing with me at the same time?

[QUOTE=ksenior;32636291]Maybe it has something to do with agreeing and disagreeing with me at the same time?[/QUOTE] I'm just throwing out some ideas to think about.

Maybe you could read what I wrote and realise I said we should have universal healthcare

James Hetfields parents died because of the fact that they denied medical treatment from themselves! Why? Christian science.

If you deny a child healthcare because of your beliefs or because of a bad experience, you're an idiot.

I think at the end of the day it comes down to what the parent is able to provide for and the grounds for this denial. If the parent did what they could, but due to their situation of not being able to pay for the treatment for instance, then their position is understandable and should be seen as such. But if the parent does it on pure grounds on their view what should be correct medical procedure and what not (even if any procedure at all ought to be applied) and such a procedure is deemed necessary by the doctors for the survival and wellbeing of the child then the parent should be bypassed. For instance, imagine that a child breaks a hand. The parents go see a doctor, get an x-ray but decide against a cast, claiming that the deity will heal the hand. At this point once the parents refuse to see reason, the doctor should be able to bypass them as well as notify child security services.