ON SOME ISSUES OF ENSURING THE RIGHTS OF MINOR PATIENTS I N RUSSIAN MEDICAL LAW: ETHICAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF AUTONOMY

Abstract

Patient autonomy as a fundamental principle of modern bioethics is considered in the context of the legal status of a minor in medical law. The authors discuss the specifics of the autonomy of a minor patient, which is determined by the age factor. The following international legal standards defining the bioethical foundations of the legal status of a minor in the medical field are considered: the right to informed voluntary consent, the right to information and confidentiality. The content of the legal concept of “autonomy of a minor patient” is revealed. The autonomy of a minor patient is considered by the authors as the ability to act and make health-related decision independently, and is presented in several aspects: first, the ability to seek medical help; second, the right to provide information in an accessible form; third, the right to decide on consent or refusal of medical intervention; fourth, the right to confidentiality. Foreign experience is provided and features of fixing the principle of autonomy of a minor in Russian legislation in the field of health care are analyzed. Main problems of implementing of the principle of patient autonomy and directions for further research in this area are outlined.