Recognizing Adolescents' 'Evolving Capacities' to Exercise Choice in Reproductive Healthcare

This Article addresses the specific duties of government and health service providers to implement adolescent rights regarding their reproductive and sexual health needs. It highlights the fact that all countries (except Somalia and the USA) have adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which usually applies to individuals aged under 18 years. The Convention requires governments to "respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child" and sets a legal limit on parental power to deny capable adolescents reproductive and sexual health services. The authors argue that the question of whether an adolescent is a "mature minor" must be decided by health service providers independently of parental judgment. [Descriptors: Reproductive Rights - Adolescents, International]