Pregnant minors: confidentiality issues and nurses' duties

Abortions in those under 16 years of age raise the issue of what to do in the face of a request that the young person's parents not be involved. The first question in such cases is whether or not the young person is competent to request confidentiality. A younger person who is competent is owned the same duty of confidentiality as an adult. In practice this means that some such requests can be granted straightforwardly. However, in many cases the teenager's pregnancy raises concern about child abuse. In the face of a serious crime the obligation to respect confidentiality is overridden. This creates a dilemma. We cannot respect confidentiality fully in such cases, but a policy of failing to do so may lead young people to seek (illegitimate) help elsewhere. Therefore, reform of the current system may be needed.