I apologize. It felt as if we were in Zoom freeze.
That's a really important question to ask, because we know, in the Benelux countries where mature minors are able to access medical assistance in dying, parental consent is a requirement, at least in some cases.
It's a challenge because parental presence in medical decision-making is often seen as autonomy enhancing, in some respects. However, we encounter cases where there are deep concerns about how the role of the parents might impact autonomous decision-making for minors. As we see in the adult context, when it comes to MAID practice, the role of family members can be a dual challenge—autonomy supporting but also autonomy limiting.
One big challenge, when it comes to mature minors, is compatibility with our framework around treatment decisions. Oftentimes, when a patient—including minors—is capable, there is usually no role for family members to be making decisions on that patient's behalf. I think it would be a challenge to require parental consent.
Consultation is a bigger conversation.