ABSTRACT
We conceptualize and apply the notion that informed consent in cases involving minors is different from that of adults for several reasons. Not only do we not see minors legally eligible to give full, independent and competent consent, but we also do not consider them as fully autonomous individuals. When contextualized in a multicultural society, this distinction between adults and minors can create additional problems of interpreting autonomy—making the distinction between individual and relational autonomy ever more relevant in analysing and interpreting the differences of our highly complex society. This contribution aims to emphasize some challenges that adapting the notion of autonomy (at the base of the informed consent process) might have to address in an increasingly multicultural and multireligious world.
