Sandra is a 13 year old girl who has recently learned that she has

a tumor rapidly growing in her eye. If she does not have surgery to
remove the tumor, then she will die. However, the surgery will most
likely require a blood transfusion, and the parents will not consent to a
surgery that requires a blood transfusion. Sandra cannot consent on
her own since she is a minor. Sandra later tells the doctor that she
wants to do surgery even after she is told all the risks of the surgery.
The doctor now has to decide whether he should side with the parents
or Sandra.
Autonomy means that the patient is in control of their own body,
and the patient makes all the important decisions for herself. If the
doctor just accepts the parents wishes, and ignores the wishes of the
teenager then he would be ignoring several key ethical points. Sandra
clearly does not hold the same views as her parents, and they are just
forcing their own views on her. It would be an injustice to Sandra if
she did not receive this life saving surgery, and it is the doctors duty
to ensure that Sandra receives the care that she wants and needs. The
doctor should take the parents to court and prove to a judge that the
surgery will save Sandras life, and that she even wants to go through
with it.