Autonomy is equivalent to which legal concept?

Autonomy is equivalent to which legal concept?

• A. Confidentiality
• B. Negligence
• C. Informed consent
• D. Assault and battery

Answer: (D)

Autonomy is best understood through informed consent. Autonomy means a person has the right to make their own decisions about what happens to their body and treatment. In healthcare and law, that self-determination is protected by the requirement that patients receive adequate information about a proposed procedure, its risks, benefits, and alternatives, and that they voluntarily agree to it. Informed consent operationalizes autonomy by ensuring decisions are made by the individual, with understanding and without coercion. Confidentiality deals with keeping personal information private, not with decision-making authority. Negligence concerns failing to meet a duty of care and causing harm, not the right to decide. Assault and battery involve unlawful or harmful contact, which is a wrongdoing, not the principle of self-directed decision-making itself.

Autonomy is best understood through informed consent. Autonomy means a person has the right to make their own decisions about what happens to their body and treatment. In healthcare and law, that self-determination is protected by the requirement that patients receive adequate information about a proposed procedure, its risks, benefits, and alternatives, and that they voluntarily agree to it. Informed consent operationalizes autonomy by ensuring decisions are made by the individual, with understanding and without coercion.

Confidentiality deals with keeping personal information private, not with decision-making authority. Negligence concerns failing to meet a duty of care and causing harm, not the right to decide. Assault and battery involve unlawful or harmful contact, which is a wrongdoing, not the principle of self-directed decision-making itself.