DePaul Journal of Health Care Law Volume 14 Issue 2 Spring 2012 Article 3 October 2015 Minors and Cosmetic Surgery: An Argument for State Intervention Derrick Diaz Follow this and additional works at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/jhcl Recommended Citation Derrick Diaz, Minors and Cosmetic Surgery: An Argument for State Intervention, 14 DePaul J. Health Care L. 235 (2012) Available at: https://via.library.depaul.edu/jhcl/vol14/iss2/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Law at Via Sapientiae. It has been accepted for inclusion in DePaul Journal of Health Care Law by an authorized editor of Via Sapientiae. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. MINORS AND COSMETIC SURGERY: AN ARGUMENT FOR STATE INTERVENTION Derrick Diaz* ABSTRACT: This article focuses on whether a state may intervene to prevent minors from obtaining medically unnecessary cosmetic surgery. The article concludes that a state may prohibit such a procedure without running afoul of parental liberty interests by showing severe risk of harm to the minor. Furthermore, the article proposes that minors not have access to cosmetic surgery unless found by a court to be medically necessary. If medical necessity has been shown, then the parental presumption must control. However, if medical necessity has not been shown, then the service should be prohibited the same as any regulated service or product prohibited to minors. Lastly, the article proposes the criteria under which a state may distinguish between cosmetic surgeries that are purely cosmetic and those that are medically necessary. J.D., Rutgers School of Law-Camden, 2012; B.A., Rutgers University-New Brunswick, 2009, Summa Cum Laude.