Harm minimisation is a joke. It is a failure and it doesn't work.

If we teach the children to have no respect for the law then we should not be surprised when they have no respect for the law.

Get ya head out of the sand. This kid was obviously engaging in sex,no one told her the age of consent is 16. The age of buying grog is 18, so why is so many underage teenagers drunk. People are carrying on as if this is a surprise, ya gotta be jokin.

I think it's random coincidence Jolanda finds herself on the correct side of this issue about protecting parental rights... I think she has no idea what she is talking about when it comes to drugs. Making drugs legal will definitely take the shine off of them amongst the young and protect them from becoming criminals or overdosing. As you can see Helen Mirren took cocaine on many occasions and loved it. Look how stable and successful she is now... She is a role model. Col Rouge should be taking some notes as he is sadly subject to fallibility as everyone else.

Obviously Fractelle, Foxy, yvonne, Bronwyn and some others hold different views than me. They see the action taken by the nurse and GP as in the childs best interests.

Although the actions of the nurse and GP were within the law, I see the problem being with the law itself. For some independent person to be able to arbitrarily make decissions for the medication and medical treatment of a child without consulting or approval of the parents is simply wrong. As is not informing the parents.

DOCS has a lot of power, but it had to go to court to try to counter the parents refusal to give their baby a vacination for Hep B even when there was a high risk of infection.

It is simply wrong for the Governments to give authority to a child to instruct that his/her parents not be informed.

I concede that there are instances where children and parents are unable to communicate about certain matters, but by far the main reason the kids don't want the parents told is because they will get into trouble. It is not as though they can't talk to their parents, it is to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.

Do not most parents teach their kids that if you do something wrong it is better to own up. Do not try and hide it. The respnsible thing to do is come clean. The current law allows kids from 14 to 18 to avoid responsibility for actions. The governments are saying that it is OK to not disclose, to cover up, and providing the means by which the kids can do just that.

Whether it be seeking contraception or treatment for an infected body piercing the issue is the same. Parents should be the ones to decide on what action, if any, is taken.

We are making medicos a party to a cover up by the child. It does not seem a very responsible thing to be teaching kids to me. Governments and schools should be supporting parents in teaching kids honesty and integrity.

Banjo: "Governments and schools should be supporting parents in teaching kids honesty and integrity."

Precisely.

In the case of the 14 year old girl, she was treated with respect and consideration for her situation. We don't know why she could not talk to her parents, the reasons are many and varied.

Therefore, the nurse and GP acted appropriately, they assisted the girl to avoid an unwanted pregnancy and kept her trust. Had they notified her parents against her wishes, they would've betrayed her. Who then would she turn to for help? No doubt her peers who are as young and in need of support as herself.

This is not a case of "the state" overriding parental "rights" it is a case of two professional people (nurse and GP) acting with all the discretion we would expect for ourselves if seeking treatment. I have no way of knowing, but I am sure that the girl would've been advised to consult with her parents, that she couldn't is sad. However, at least she was treated intelligently and no doubt avoided a pregnancy.

Banjo, you see parental control as being more important than the welfare of a young woman. Sooner or later parental control ceases to be. We would all rather it be later, but one thing we all have to learn, as adults, and that is we don't have control over everything that happens to us in life.

What is that saying:

"Grant me the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to accept the things I can't."

I wonder why there is no mention of involvement by the school counsellor. Surely this is a case where involvement of such a person is warranted.