Autonomy, Informed Consent and Medical Law

Alasdair Maclean examines the ethical basis for consent to medical treatment, arguing that consent should be approached in the context of the healthcare professional-patient relationship. Suggestions for reform are compared with the possible future development of the law if Neil Manson and Onora O'Neill's model of genuine consent is implemented.

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Alasdair Maclean analyses the ethical basis for consent to medical treatment, providing both an extensive reconsideration of the ethical issues and a detailed examination of English law. Importantly, the analysis is given a context by situating consent at the centre of the healthcare professional-patient relationship. This allows the development of a relational model that balances the agency of the two parties with their obligations that arise from that relationship. That relational model is then used to critique the current legal regulation of consent. To conclude, Alasdair Maclean considers the future development of the law and contrasts the model of relational consent with Neil Manson and Onora O'Neill's recent proposal for a model of genuine consent.