The court must approve care for a minor under 14 years if:

• the parents or tutor refuse to consent to medically required care (care the minor needs);
• the parents or tutor cannot consent to care;
• the care is not medically required (the minor does not need the care, such as plastic surgery to have a smaller nose), and the care is a serious risk to his/her health or may cause serious or permanent effects.

A minor child 14 years or older

The general rule is a child 14 years or older can consent alone to care.

However, the parents or tutor must consent to care that is not medically required (the minor does not need the care, such as plastic surgery to make his/her nose smaller) if there is a serious risk to the child’s health and there may be serious or permanent effects.

You must be told if your minor child spends more than twelve (12) hours in a health care institution.

Finally, the court can consent to care if the child refuses to consent. The parents can consent to care for the child if there is an emergency and his/her life is in danger.