A 15-year-old girl with profound intellectual disability and cerebral palsy attends a gynaecology clinic with…

Question

A 15-year-old girl with profound intellectual disability and cerebral palsy attends a gynaecology clinic with both parents and her treating psychiatrist. She is non-verbal and cannot understand or retain any information about her body or about surgery. Her periods are light and cause her no distress, but her parents have become frightened that she will be sexually exploited at her day programme and ask for a laparoscopic tubal ligation. Both parents have signed the hospital consent form and the…

Accepted Answer

Seek authorisation from the Family Court

Answer

Ask a second gynaecologist to review the request

Answer

Notify the child protection agency

Answer

Proceed on the parents' written consent

Answer

Refer the request to the hospital ethics committee

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