Pregnancy, autonomy and paternalism

Modern medicine is increasingly aware of the significance of patient autonomy in making treatment choices. This would seem to be particularly important where the therapy requested was "voluntary" as in fertility treatment or cosmetic surgery. However, the Hippocratic doctrine "Primum...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lockwood, G. M. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: BMJ Publ. 1999
In: Journal of medical ethics
Year: 1999, Volume: 25, Issue: 6, Pages: 537-540
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Summary:Modern medicine is increasingly aware of the significance of patient autonomy in making treatment choices. This would seem to be particularly important where the therapy requested was "voluntary" as in fertility treatment or cosmetic surgery. However, the Hippocratic doctrine "Primum non nocere", seems especially relevant where the treatment sought may have a low chance of a successful outcome or even be life-threatening. Mrs A's case demonstrates the difficulty faced by the physician who wants to maximise her patient's autonomy, but "Above all, do no harm".
ISSN:1473-4257
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of medical ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1136/jme.25.6.537