Autonomy, Consent and the Law

September 7, 2010

In Western countries, respect for patient autonomy is recognized as one of the most dominant ethical principles in healthcare ethics, and obtaining informed consent from the patient for healthcare treatment is understood as standard practice. Accordingly, we assume that the laws of these countries unequivocally support self-determination in healthcare. Sheila McLean has done a remarkable work in challenging what most of us have presumed to be the legal reality. In the introduction, she claims that while consent is believed to be the legal equivalent of autonomy, the relationship between the ethical concept of autonomy and the legal concept of consent is “deceptively nuanced and complex”. (Metapsychology)