title: Ethical problems in the investigation of autoerotic deaths: three case reports.
abstract: Despite a large body of literature on autoerotic deaths, there are very few articles focusing on the ethical aspect of such deaths. Furthermore, as far as we know, there is no paper that has studied the forensic teams' reactions to those deaths. We present three cases of autoerotic death involving ethical problems in the case's management. Despite the usual high professionalism and respectful behaviour of the forensic staff, we observed in these cases breaches of confidentiality, laxity of work and an offhand attitude. Ethical dimensions are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institut médico-légal, Université Claude-Bernad Lyon 1, 12 avenue Rockefeller, 6908 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Patrice
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schoendorff
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lamothe
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fanton
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Malicier
authors.forename: Anny
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sauvageau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy / Q000941:ethics*; D004882:Erotica; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality