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Patients, Agents, And Informed Consent, Joram Graf Haber

Journal of Law and Health

In Part II of this article, I develop the "patient" / agent distinction from the vantage point of humanistic ethics. This is the view that the knowledge of man is the basis for establishing norms and values. In Part III, I argue that the "patient" / agent distinction correlates the the Kantian notions of heteronomy / autonomy, and disrespect for autonomy / respect for autonomy. In Part IV, I show that the "patient" / agent distinction also correlates with the standards of disclosure the courts have adopted in deciding informed consent cases. Finally, in Part V, I show how the …