Autonomy and Informed Consent in the Context of a Pandemic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18662/brain/11.2/87Keywords:
autonomy, informed consent, pandemic, bioethics.Abstract
In this article we discuss respect for autonomy as a bioethical principle correlated with the idea of informed consent. We situate this in the context of challenges related to emergencies such as the coronavirus pandemic we are currently experiencing, which has affected all of humanity. It is important to emphasize that autonomy is a key to modernity, a perspective on the world that is in fact one of the constitutive values of modern society. Autonomy is given by the fact that we are human beings, but not all human beings have the same degree of autonomy.References
Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (2001). Principles of biomedical ethics (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Boseley, S. (2020, March 13). Herd immunity: will the UK's Coronavirus strategy work? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/herd-immunity-will-the-uks-Coronavirus-strategy-work
Caras, A., & Sandu, A. (2014, July 4-9). Relational Autonomy – Connections Between Moral Agent Theory and Supervision of Ethics. Al X–lea Congres Mondial ISUD, Fiinţa umană: natura şi funcţiile sale, Craiova, România.
https://isudialogue.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/isud-program-2014-final1.pdf
Damian, S., Sandu, A., Necula, R., Bizgan, M., & Ioan, B. (2013). Death in the Vision of Doctors. An Anthropological Perspective. Postmodern Openings, 4(3), 73-97.
De Haldevang, A. (2020, March 21). Russia has reported few Coronavirus cases but a sharp spike in pneumonia. Quartz. https://qz.com/1822523/russia-reports-few-Coronavirus-cases-but-sharp-spike-in-pneumonia/
Digi Sport (2020, March 15). China dă vina pe SUA pentru pandemia de Coronavirus! Totul din cauza Jocurilor Militare Mondiale. Acuzaţii grave! [China blames US for Coronavirus pandemic! All because of the World Military Games. Serious accusations!]. Digi Sport.
EURACTIV.com & EURACTIV network (2020, April 20). Coronavirus: What’s happening in Europe. EURACTIV. https://www.euractiv.com/section/Coronavirus/linksdossier/Coronavirus-whats-happening-in-europe/
European Commission (2020). Coronavirus response. https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/health/Coronavirus-response_en
FRA European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2020). Coronavirus pandemic in the EU - Fundamental Rights Implications. Bulletin 1.
Frunza, A. & Sandu, A. (2017). Values grounding the Informed Consent in Medical Practice. Theory and Practice. SAGE Open, 7(4), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244017740397
Gavrilovici, O. & Oprea, L. (2013). Comunicarea în relaţia medic-pacient [Communication in the doctor-patient relationship]. In L. Oprea., C. Gavrilovici, M. C. Vicol, & V. Astărăstoae (Coord.), Relaţia medic-pacient [Doctor-patient relationship] (pp. 201-231). Editura Polirom.
Gîrlescu, N., Hunea, I., Diac, M., Damian, S., Knieling, A., & Bulgaru-Iliescu, D. (2020). Cerebral oedema in diabetic ketoacidosis. BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, 11(1), 32-43. http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/brain/11.1/13
Guan, W-jie, Liang, W-hua, Zhao, Y., Liang, H-rui, Chen, Z-sheng, Li, Y-min, Liu, X-qing, Chen, R., Tang, C-li, Wang, T., Ou, C-quan, Li, L., Chen, P-yan, Sang, L., Wang, W., Li, J-fu, Li, C-chen, Ou, L-min, Cheng, B., Xiong, S., Ni, Z-yi, Xiang, J., Hu, Y., Liu, L., Shan, H., Lei, C-liang, Peng, Y-xiang, Wei, L., Liu, Y., Hu, Y-hua, Peng, P., Wang, J-ming, Liu, J-yang, Chen, Z., Li, G., Zheng, Z-jian, Qiu, S-qin, Luo, L., Ye, C-jiang, Zhu, S-yong, Cheng, L-ling, Ye, F., Li, S-yue, Zheng, J-ping, Zhang, N-fu, Zhong, N-shan, & He, J-xing (2020). Comorbidity and its impact on 1590 patients with Covid-19 in China: A Nationwide Analysis. European Respiratory Journal, 55(4), in press. https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00547-2020
Heidegger, M. (2002). Fiinţă şi timp [Being and time]. Humanitas.
Iftikhar, N. (2020). What Is Herd Immunity and Could It Help Prevent COVID-19? Healthline.
https://www.healthline.com/health/herd-immunity
National Institute of Public Health. (2020, April 3). Metodologia de supraveghere a sindromului respirator acut cu noul Coronavirus (COVID-19). Actualizare 03.04.2020 [Methodology for surveillance of acute respiratory syndrome with the new Coronavirus (COVID-19). Update 03.04.2020]. https://www.cnscbt.ro/index.php/info-medical/1623-metodologia-de-supraveghere-a-covid-19-actualizare-03-04-2020/file
Kant, I. (2007). Întemeierea metafizicii moravurilor [Groundwork of the metaphysic of morals]. Humanitas.
Kant, I. (2010). Critica raţiunii practice [Critique of practical reason]. Univers Enciclopedic.
Kluge, H. H. P. (2020, April 2). Statement – Older people are at highest risk from COVID-19, but all must act to prevent community spread. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/Coronavirus-covid-19/statements/statement-older-people-are-at-highest-risk-from-covid-19,-but-all-must-act-to-prevent-community-spread
Li, W. (2020, February 7). Li Wenliang: Coronavirus death of Wuhan doctor sparks anger. BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51409801
Ministry of Health. (2020). Ce trebuie să ştiţi despre noul Coronavirus (Covid-19) [What you need to know about the new Coronavirus (Covid-19)]. http://www.ms.ro/Coronavirus-covid-19/
Necula, R., Damian, S., Caras, A., Sandu, A., & Vicol, M. (2013). The role of spirituality in the construction of the autonomy and responsibility of chronic diabetic patients. An orthodox priests’ perspective. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 92, 617-626.
O'Grady, C. (2020, March 20). The U.K. backed off on herd immunity. To beat COVID-19, we’ll ultimately need it. Widespread immunity is essential for a successful vaccine, but establishing it could be difficult for the new Coronavirus. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/03/uk-backed-off-on-herd-immunity-to-beat-Coronavirus-we-need-it/
Putz, C. (2020, April 3). Where In the World Are There No Coronavirus Cases? What should we make of the countries that have not reported cases? Are they unable to test? Are they lying? Are they that isolated? The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/where-in-the-world-are-there-no-Coronavirus-cases/
Redefining vulnerability in the era of COVID-19. Editorial. (2020 April 4). The Lancet, 395(10230), P1089. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30757-1
Regalado, A. (2020, March 17). What is herd immunity and can it stop the Coronavirus? Once enough people get Covid-19, it will stop spreading on its own. But the costs will be devastating. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/03/17/905244/what-is-herd-immunity-and-can-it-stop-the-Coronavirus/
Rettman, A. (2020, March 19). Is Russia lying to WHO on virus data? Euobserver. https://euobserver.com/Coronavirus/147798
Rothe, C., Schunk, M., Sothmann, P., Bretzel, G., Froeschl, G., Wallrauch, C., Zimmer, T., Thiel, V., Janke, C., Guggemos, W., Seilmaier, M., Drosten, C., Vollmar, P., Zwirglmaier, K., Zange, S., Wölfel,R., & Hoelscher, M. (2020). Transmission of 2019-nCoV infection from an asymptomatic contact in Germany [Letter]. New England Journal of Medicine, 382, 970-971. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2001468
Sandu, A. & Vlad, L. (2018). Beyond Technological Singularity-the Posthuman Condition. Postmodern Openings, 9(1), 91-108. http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/po/07
Sandu, A. (2003). Sexul pe internet – formă de virtualizare a spaţiului social [Internet sex - a form of virtualization of social space]. Revista de Cercetare şi Intervenţie Socială, 2, 154-161.
Sandu, A. (2011, September 22–25). Conceptul de autonomie în bioetică şi etică aplicată. Un review de literatură [The concept of autonomy in bioethics and applied ethics. A literature review]. [Conference presentation]. National Conference on Bioethics, 7th Edition, Bucharest, Romania.
Sandu, A. (2018, August 18). Towards a Phenomenology of the Digitalization of the Consciousness [Conference presentation]. World Congress of Philosophy, Beijing, China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMXmlFwWfI&list=PL38iuPBUBa_-1b3jadwOR2TeNwCxNmSdd&index=2&t=35s
Sandu, A. (2019a). Towards a Phenomenology of the Digitalization of Consciousness. The Virtualization of the Social Space. Postmodern Openings, 10(2), 155-161. http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/po/77
Sandu, A. (2019b). New Patterns of Media Consumption. TV Series on Demand as a Form of Virtualizing the Social Space. Logos Universality Mentality Education Novelty: Philosophy & Humanistic Sciences, 7(1), 96-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/lumenphs/21
Sandu, A. (2019c). Towards a Phenomenology of the Digitalization of Consciousness. The Virtualization of the Social Space. Postmodern Openings, 10(2), 155-161. http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/po/77
Sandu, A., Cojocaru, Ş., & Ponea, S. (2010). Appreciative evaluation of training programs. Case study: Lumen Consulting and Training Center. Social Research Reports, 8, 3-76.
Schulman, R., & Siman-Tov, D. (2020). From Biological Weapons to Miracle Drugs: Fake News about the Coronavirus Pandemic. Institute for National Security Studies Insight, 1275. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep23529.pdf
Tasnim, S., Hossain, M., & Mazumder, H. (2020, March 29). Impact of rumors or misinformation on Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in social media. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/uf3zn .
Vacaru, A. (2020, March 13). Un oficial Chinez acuză Armata americană că ar fi răspândit Coronavirusul în China [A Chinese official accuses the US Army of spreading the Coronavirus to China]. Mediafax.ro. https://www.mediafax.ro/
Coronavirus/un-oficial-chinez-acuza-armata-americana-ca-ar-fi-raspandit-Coronavirusul-in-china-18980038.
Wadhams, N., Jacobs, J., & Bloomberg (2020, April 1). China intentionally under-reported total Coronavirus cases and deaths, U.S. intelligence says. Fortune.
https://fortune.com/2020/04/01/china-Coronavirus-cases-deaths-total-under-report-cover-up-covid-19/
Yu, V. (2020, February 18). Senior Wuhan doctor dies from Coronavirus as authorities start to 'round up' patients. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/feb/18/senior-wuhan-doctor-dies-from-Coronavirus-as-authorities-start-to-round-up-patients
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant this journal right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work, with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as an earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience Journal has an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
CC BY-NC-ND
