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An administrative and legal device by which approval to proceed based on known or predicted consequences is obtained and recorded from a patient or from a volunteer for medical research, and thus avoiding an accusation for what otherwise might be an assault. Just what ‘informed’ means can be the subject of much legal and ethical wrangling. One modern interpretation is that it means as much as the person giving the consent demonstrates that he or she wants to know (although most physicians, ethics committees, institutional review boards and courts underpin this with a minimum everyone should be told about the procedure being consented to). Discussed on pages 342 to 344 in Overcoming Infertility, especially the box, Autonomy and Respect for Persons on page 343
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