autonomy
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Meaning 'self-determination', autonomy is the in word in modern medical ethics. However, many questions remain about the limits of autonomy and some are discussed below.
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Fatal distraction (triple helix - winter 2009)
Unqualified patient autonomy harms the heart of medicine - At a resumed inquest in October, the Coroner ruled that doctors at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital had acted correctly in not giving any lifesaving treatment to 26 year old Kerrie Wooltorton when she was admitted in 2007 having...
CMF File 29 (2005) - Autonomy - who chooses? (CMF files)
The patient's 'right to choose' is a cliché for an idea that is growing in medicine, and is the driving force behind many of the major issues in bioethics today. But is autonomy out of balance, with individuals exercising their rights as absolutes and paying less and less consideration to their...
Four reasons derived from respect for autonomy why euthanasia should not be legalised: -
1) Following the patient's autonomy impacts that of the doctor - It is self evident that where a patient's autonomy is followed to the extent of their receiving a prescription for lethal medication or being put to death at the end of a needle, the autonomy of the doctor is compromised. The obvious riposte is: So what? There...
A Right to Die (nucleus - spring 1994)
'It's my right' has become a rallying cry in this century, relating to almost any matter from human rights to the right to a holiday. Some very basic rights in the area of life and death are being claimed. A person's right to life itself is one with which we mostly have no argument; equally many of...
Jehovah's Witnesses and Blood Transfusions (nucleus - winter 1993)
Introduction - She was my first surgical patient; the Spanish lady in bed 16 admitted with acute biliary colic. Due to a shortage of patients another student actually `clerked' her whilst I just sat and listened, adding the odd constructive comment. We'd been told that our consultant generally...
Telling the Truth to Patients (nucleus - autumn 1993)
The scientific basis of Western medicine demands strict adherence to truth, in learning, research, history taking, diagnosis, assessment of results of treatment and performance audit, but in conveying unpalatable truth to patients about their condition opinions differ and practice varies. Problems...