Abstract

BUCHNER-EVELEIGH, Mariana. Is it a competent child's prerogative to refuse medical treatment?. De Jure (Pretoria) [online]. 2019, vol.52, n.1, pp.242-256. ISSN 2225-7160.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2225-7160/2019/v52a15.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the legal position pertaining to the refusal of medical treatment by a competent child as an expression of his or her rights to physical integrity and autonomy guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. The article also examines how the Children's Act gives effect to the child's right to refuse medical treatment in order to determine whether it demonstrates respect for a child's rights to bodily integrity and autonomy. Thereafter the question whether the refusal of a competent child should be overridden with specific reference to the child's best interests is addressed.

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