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The Goodness-Of-Fit Ethic For Informed Consent, Celia B. Fisher

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay argues that informed consent policies for adults with mental disorders need to reflect a relational approach that re-conceptualizes consent vulnerability in terms of a "goodness-of-fit" between patient characteristics and the consent context. The author explains the concept of consent vulnerability and how it applies to individuals with mental disorders and may itself impair their ability to make informed decisions. She then examines four psycho-legal standards of informed consent and how to enhance their usefulness and accuracy. Finally, she provides three hypothetical situations and applies the "goodness-of-fit" model to them to illustrate the function of the concept.