Comment by TheBicPen
21 days ago
Do you think bodily autonomy is absolute? Your comments seem to imply that bodily autonomy is the only relevant thing to consider when discussing patient care. The world doesn't work that way. Believe it or not, a doctor won't amputate a limb when you show up with a runny nose even if you insist that that's the procedure you want. Search up the 4 principles of biomedical ethics if you want to learn more about the factors that influence doctors' ethical decisions.
Or do you mean that your opinion should trump that of any doctor or expert in any field when the issue pertains to your person? If that's the case, I wonder why you choose to participate in society at all, given that you're uncomfortable with the idea that other people might know more than you.
> Do you think bodily autonomy is absolute?
No. When decisions I take could affect others, that can, in a limited way, justify overriding bodily autonomy. E.g. preventing someone with an infectious disease from spreading it by quarantining them. Or when they can't make their own decisions, e.g. if they're children, suffering dementia, or are unconscious and time is critical.
> Believe it or not, a doctor won't amputate a limb
I struggle to understand how this is a reasonable, much less charitable, interpretation of my words. Bodily autonomy does not include commanding others. But people can refuse care, even when it is medically sound. Except in very limited circumstances, doctors may not force procedures or medicine on unwilling patients.
> Or do you mean that your opinion should trump that of any doctor or expert in any field when the issue pertains to your person? If that's the case, I wonder why you choose to participate in society at all, given that you're uncomfortable with the idea that other people might know more than you.
One does not at all follow from the other. Experts in the field will tell me excessive sweets are bad for me (and I believe them) - should they get to put a block my credit card so it cannot be used to buy unhealthy snacks, only healthy food?
I have humored your post, now please explain to me: How does believing people have a right to refuse medical treatment imply I am uncomfortable with others being more knowledgeable?