Law 3101A/B Lecture 2: Chapter 2 Consent and Capacity (Competency)
Document Summary
The reason consent is so essential is because the legal system rigorously protects the autonomy of the individual, giving the individual the right to control one"s own body, make treatment decisions and control related information about oneself. The issue of consent arises in numerous treatment, counselling and care situations and the legal principles vary accordingly. For this reason, it is important to frame the issue of consent precisely in terms of who is giving consent to whom for what. The principles of consent and capacity focus on autonomy. The first step in analyzing consent is defining the specific consent in which the issue has arisen. Unless a statute expressly or by necessary implication provides otherwise, the relationship between health professionals and their patients is governed by the common law principles of consent. Generally, health professionals must obtain the patient"s consent to initiate any treatment, counselling or care. The consent should cover not only proposed treatment but all info about treatment.