Victims of sexual violence who are minors should not be forced to submit to a rape kit exam against their wishes since it might retraumatize the patient.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(1):36-43. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.ecas2-1801.
Preventing bad outcomes for teens and their offspring was the impetus behind confidential care for reproductive health. Requiring parental involvement created an obstacle to the provision of necessary care.
An undercurrent in all debates about allocation of health care resources to the poor is the matter of access to and coverage of health care for immigrants, particularly low-income and undocumented ones.
There is evidence that children who are unaware of their life-threatening diagnoses do not experience any less distress and anxiety than those who are told, and in some cases they may actually experience more.