title: Paternalism in the name of autonomy.
abstract: Different ideas of the normative relevance of autonomy can give rise to profoundly different action-guiding principles in healthcare. If autonomy is seen as a value rather than as a right, it can be argued that patients' decisions should sometimes be overruled in order to protect or promote their own autonomy. We refer to this as paternalism in the name of autonomy. In this paper, we discuss different elements of autonomy (decision-making capacity, efficiency, and authenticity) and arguments in favor of paternalism for the sake of autonomy that have been proposed in the bioethical debate. We argue that if autonomy is valuable, then paternalism for the sake of autonomy may be justified. However, policies allowing paternalism in the name of autonomy may be self-defeating.
authors.affiliation: *Stockholm Centre for Healthcare Ethics, Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Tomtebodavägen 18A, Stockholm 171 77, Sweden. manne.sjostrand@ki.se.
authors.forename: Manne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sjöstrand
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Juth
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Helgesson
mesh_terms: D001675:Bioethics; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D026706:Paternalism / Q000941:ethics*; D010358:Patient Participation; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010686:Philosophy, Medical
keywords: autonomy; bioethics; ethical theory; paternalism