Abstract
Children’s right to healthcare is an important aspect of human rights and their ability to provide consent is essential for their well-being. However, children in Nigeria cannot provide consent to medical treatment and child participation does not extend to medical decision making. In the United Kingdom, children’s right to healthcare is extended to include the right to consent to specific forms of medical treatment under certain circumstances. The laws establish an age threshold for medical consent and the types of treatment they may consent to only if the child is found competent to do so. In Nigeria, there is a gap in addressing the issue of medical consent for mature minors through formal legal frameworks. The medical practitioner is expected to rely on the consent of parents to administer treatment to mature minors. This paper reviews the legal framework on children’s consent to healthcare in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. It adopts the doctrinal method of legal research. The findings are that the laws as they are do not offer minors medical autonomy. It concludes that the United Kingdom’s approach provides a suitable model to follow; particularly the competency test set out in its law and recommends legislative reforms that align with social and cultural realities to establish clearer standards.
Keywords: Child Rights, Healthcare, Informed Consent, Mental Capacity, Autonomy