Patients’ and Professionals’ Views on Autonomy, Disability, and “Discrimination”

Abstract

Autonomy is the primary ethical value in medicine in most Western countries. Many people feel that they are entitled to whatever services they request, especially if they are willing to pay out of pocket. Worldwide, increasing numbers of service providers appear willing to honor even controversial patient requests. This “triumph of autonomy” creates a ready market for “consumer” products in medicine generally and also enables companies to increase existing markets or to create new markets by direct advertising to consumers. This makes it harder to “draw lines” in providing services, and leads, perhaps inevitably, to the development of “private” health care alongside any publicly-supported system.