Autonomy and Informed Consent in the Context of a Pandemic

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.