"At long last the English courts now recognise and endorse patient autonomy" Discuss.

In relation to health care law the principle patient autonomy entails taking into account and giving consideration to the patient's views of their treatment. Autonomy was first recognised as a relevant ethical principle to be endorsed by the courts in relation to heath care law by Mr Justice Cardozo in America and later affirmed in the English courts by Lord Donaldson; "An adult patient who suffers from no mental incapacity has an absolute right to …

…the benevolence of their patients. However, the issue, I suggest, is not to controlling a person's autonomous decision outright but as to whether they have the capacity to make that decision. I acknowledge that the courts now fully recognise the various situations in which there is a need for patient autonomy to be scrutinised, however, I do not believe that they have satisfactorily endorsed this into health care law for the most ethical results yet.