Compliance with laws of medical interventions on minors

In recent years, medical interventions on minors have been frequently discussed. The necessity of protecting minors, who are the object of the intervention makes the issue important for both physicians and minors' legal guardians in the eyes of the law and social life. The legality of the intervention such as circumcision, vaccination or organ transplantation depends on who will implement it, under what conditions and for what purpose, and with whose consent. Violation of these matters will render the intervention applied to the minor unlawful. In this study, medical interventions to be applied to minors are examined in terms of compliance with the law. Considering the progress in the medicine today, physicians do not have an opportunity to master all aspects of the medicine. For this reason, physicians should be authorized according to their fields of expertise in terms of medical interventions on minors. On the other hand, minors should have the right to have a say in an intervention to be applied to them. Particularly regarding mentally competent minors, having a say in intervention is a reflection of the minor's being counted as an individual. In this respect, minors should be enlightened by physicians according to their cognitive abilities. It should be determined how and in what frame the enlightenment will be made according to the development of the minor. Medical interventions applied to minors may have consequences that will affect their development as individuals and even their adulthood. For all these reasons, any medical intervention to be applied to minors must be in accordance with the law and must be based on the best interests of the minor.