Asigurarea dreptului copilului la sănătate – de la decizia părintelui la protecție legală

Abstract

The child's right to health is a priority, and the parents are the ones who are responsible for the proper care of the child. However, in the medical practice of the Republic of Moldova, multiple cases were recorded when the parents' decisions to refuse medical assistance for the child put at risk the child`s benefit and health. Parental refusal in relation to medical assistance are recorded in various situations, starting with the issue of child vaccination, hospitalization or treatment with antibiotics, blood transfusion, as well as nonacceptance of invasive interventions. A study carried out in 2020 within the School of Public Health Management identified how serious the phenomenon of parental resistance is in medical institutions in our country. The majority of respondents stated that there is a need to develop concrete intervention tools that would allow them to be much more decisive in situations of parental resistance, in order to protect the child's right to health. There is a need for a radical revision and the inclusion of some rigorous changes in the Law of Child Rights (338/1994), which is outdated by social realities, contains imperfect provisions and requires adjustment to international standards in the field.