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Journal article 863 views 417 downloads

Autonomy, age and sterilisation requests

Paddy McQueen Orcid Logo

Journal of Medical Ethics, Volume: 43, Issue: 5, Pages: 310 - 313

Swansea University Author: Paddy McQueen Orcid Logo

Abstract

Requests for sterilisation made by young, childfree adults are often denied by doctors, even though sterilisation is legally available to individuals over the age of 18. A reason that doctors frequently give for withholding sterilisation is that the patient will later regret their decision. In this...

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Published in: Journal of Medical Ethics
ISSN: 0306-6800 1473-4257
Published: 2017
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa48279
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Abstract: Requests for sterilisation made by young, childfree adults are often denied by doctors, even though sterilisation is legally available to individuals over the age of 18. A reason that doctors frequently give for withholding sterilisation is that the patient will later regret their decision. In this paper, I assess whether the possibility of future regret is a defensible reason for denying a sterilisation request. I argue that it is not. Consequently, decision-competent adults who have no desire to have children should have their requests agreed to.
Keywords: Age; Autonomy; Medical decision-making; Regret; Voluntary sterilisation
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Issue: 5
Start Page: 310
End Page: 313