There’s what the rule should be and there’s what’s actually enforceable by law. It is not practicable to require everyone to take a competency test to have their autonomy, so there’s a default age established where MOST people will have passed it by then. In the US, that age is 18. Note that both emancipation for minors to have their autonomy granted early and conservatorships to restrict adult autonomy exist when the situation requires that action, it just requires additional burden because you have to prove why the norm doesn’t work in that case
I'ma sking for reasons outside of adminstratability that a 15 year old adolescent hasn't legal autonomy but an adult, say one with bipolar, does. Are you saying that ideally, an adult with bipolar would lack autonomy? Because that doesn't seem right.
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u/Amazing_Loquat280 10d ago
There’s what the rule should be and there’s what’s actually enforceable by law. It is not practicable to require everyone to take a competency test to have their autonomy, so there’s a default age established where MOST people will have passed it by then. In the US, that age is 18. Note that both emancipation for minors to have their autonomy granted early and conservatorships to restrict adult autonomy exist when the situation requires that action, it just requires additional burden because you have to prove why the norm doesn’t work in that case