Following the Yellow Brick Road: Next Steps in the Synthesis of Pediatric Bioethics and Child Rights.

Abstract

The Symposium on "The Interface of Child Rights and Pediatric Bioethics in the Clinical Setting" brought together a diverse group of pediatric bioethicists and child rights advocates to explore how the junction of these disciplines could inform their respective work. In retrospect, it is clear how the diversity of personal histories, professional disciplines, knowledge, experience, language, culture, and politics of the participants influenced the outcomes of the Symposium and provided both challenges and opportunities for further collaboration. Several themes emerged from the meeting, including the relevance of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the role of the family, and consideration of the best interests of the child to complex medical decision-making; research ethics; and the applicability of the principles of bioethics and child rights to the social determinants of health. This essay poses questions related to each of these themes that can serve as a framework for further collaboration. It concludes with a statement by Da Silva and his coauthors that the CRC and the principles of child rights can provide "increased conceptual clarity and a widely endorsed language that can assist pediatric bioethicists in clinical, organizational, and international consultations, as well as in education and policy development."