Bioethics in Faith and Practice, Volume 3, Number 1

2 Kuruvilla ⦁ Autonomy and Patient Care Disability, as well as national laws . 11 Such supported decision-making could include not only the right to refuse treatment, but the right to choose options such as physician-assisted suicide. Minors and persons with disabilities evidence the Imago Dei as much as any other human being does. Treating these persons with the respect they deserve is certainly an admirable goal. However, we must tread cautiously in these matters. Patient autonomy is an important consideration - but is it paramount? Or are there cases where other considerations trump autonomy? Should our laws be changed to reflect current psychological theories regarding mature minors? The way these questions are answered will have lasting ramifications for the medical treatment of minors and mentally disabled persons. Julianna’s case, while extreme, may be part of a growing trend. 1 "NINDS Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Information Page." National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Accessed January 12, 2016. 2 Bowerman, Mary. "Parents to Honor 5-year-old Daughter's Decision of 'heaven' over 'hospital'" USA Today , October 28, 2015. Accessed January 12, 2016. 3 Cohen, Elizabeth. "’Heaven Over Hospital’: 5-year-old Julianna Snow Dies on Her Terms." CNN , June 20, 2016. Accessed July 18, 2017. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Parsapoor, Alireza, Mohammed-Bagher Parsapoor, Nima Rezaei, and Fariba Asghari. "Autonomy of Children and Adolescents in Consent to Treatment: Ethical, Jurisprudential and Legal Considerations." Iranian Journal of Pediatrics 24, no. 3 (2014): 241-48. Accessed January 12, 2016. 8 Steinberg, Laurence. "Does Recent Research on Adolescent Brain Development Inform the Mature Minor Doctrine." The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 38, no. 3 (2013): 256-67. Accessed January 12, 2016. 9 Coleman, Doriane, and Philip Rosoff. "The Legal Authority of Mature Minors to Consent to General Medical Treatment." Pediatrics 131, no. 4 (2013): 786-93. Accessed January 12, 2016. 10 Richardson, Genevra. "Mental Disabilities and the Law: From Substitute to Supported Decision-Making?" Current Legal Problems , 2012. do i: 10.1093/clp/cus010 . 11 Gooding, Piers. "Supported Decision-Making: A Rights-Based Disability Concept and Its Implications for Mental Health Law." Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 20, no. 3 (2012): 431-51. Accessed January 12, 2016. doi : 10.1080/13218719.2012.711683 .