Sexual offences and consent

• Relevant law is the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009
• Consent is central to the very notion of sexual offences
• A child under 13 cannot consent to any sexual activity - if you are told this by a patient you must inform social services
• An older child (i.e. 13-15) cannot legally have intercouse or oral sex with anyone, but consensual touching, kissing, and sexual conversations between older children are generally considered to be a part of growing up

Contraception and consent

• You may produce contraception (and relevant advice) for a child under 16
• You can provide other advice and treatment such as abortion and for STIs without informing the parents
• Fraser guidelines outline when a young person can consent to advice/treatment for sexual matters for themselves, and is assessed by the treating doctor
• A person over 16 in Scotland is assumed to be competent to make decisions about their sexual activity for themselves in all situations unless the person is under 18, or is 16 r over and has a mental disoder, and the other party is in a position of trust over the first person e.g. teacher
• An adult who does not have capacity to make decisions for themselves regarding sexual activity and health will need an advocate to make decisions in their best interests (Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

Incapacity and criminality

• You may have to conduct examinations of people that, in other situations, would constitute a criminal offence e.g. vaginal/rectal examination on a child or incompetent adult

Ethics of assisted reproduction

• As students and clinician you can opt out (conscientious objection)

Arguments against

• It is harming women and families
• It is not natural and it is intuitively wrong
• It is playing god - no respect for sanctity of life and conception
• It artificially creates embryos, many of them are then destroyed