SPECIAL SECTION: AUTONOMY: THE DELICATE BALANCE SPECIAL SECTION: AUTONOMY: THE DELICATE BALANCE
The Virtue of Moral Responsibility in Healthcare Decisionmaking
CANDACE CUMMINS GAUTHIER a1 a1 Department of Philosophy and Religion at the
University of North Carolina, Wilmington.
The principle of respect for autonomy is increasingly under
siege as a valuable component of healthcare ethics. Its critics
charge that it has been elevated to a position out of proportion
to its contribution, so that the individual's wishes and
rights have come to dominate healthcare decisionmaking, while
obligations and responsibilities are ignored or devalued. If
we are to salvage respect for autonomy we must find a way to
reconnect the individual and the community, rights and
responsibilities, in the way we think about, discuss, and make
healthcare decisions.
