Question: ‘The English courts only pretend to respect patient autonomy. In any difficult case, the judges prefer the doctors’ judgement of the patient’s best interests.’
Answer: Self governance or autonomy fundamentally depends on capacity to make ones own decisions. Mentally competent people are said to enjoy the right to autonomy, not least in their own health and treatment of illness. When a conflict of interest arises between how someone would have them self treated and how they have been treated, the courts have been called upon, either to stop a treatment proceeding or provide compensation when it has been seen as unlawful. In this case, when performed without the correct consent required. The law in the past has almost always sided with medical opinion. The ‘doctor knows best’ idea has been part of society for a long time. Recent cases have proven this is not always correct. We will examine how far the courts have actually progressed in maintaining auto......(short extract)
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Details: - Mark: 64% | Course: Medical Law | Year: 2nd/3rd | Words: 2767 | References: Yes | Date written: April, 2003 | Date submitted: February 20, 2009 | Coursework ID: 431
