Autonomy-based bioethics and vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic: towards an African relational approach.

Theoretical medicine and bioethics Pub Date : 2024-06-01 Epub Date: 2024-05-25 DOI:10.1007/s11017-024-09671-5
Mbih Jerome Tosam
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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has provoked new interest in the notion of vulnerability and in identifying alternative approaches for responding to vulnerable patients and populations during health emergencies. In this paper, I argue that the autonomy-based approach (the most dominant approach in bioethics) to responding to vulnerability during health emergencies is deficient because it focuses only on the interests, values, and decisions of the individual patient. It overly emphasizes respect for autonomy and not respect for the patient as it does not consider the patient as a social and relational agent. Indeed, relational approaches to autonomy like the feminist and indigenous sub-Saharan African ethical approaches are promising alternatives. In this essay, I use the indigenous African relational approach to autonomy as an example of an alternative method which can be used to respond to vulnerability during a global health emergency like COVID-19.

在 COVID-19 大流行期间,基于自主权的生命伦理学与脆弱性:走向非洲关系方法。
COVID-19 大流行引发了人们对 "脆弱性 "这一概念的新关注,也引发了人们对在突发卫生事件中应对脆弱病人和人群的替代方法的新关注。在本文中,我认为以自主为基础的方法(生命伦理学中最主要的方法)在应对突发卫生事件中的脆弱性方面存在不足,因为它只关注患者个人的利益、价值观和决定。它过分强调对自主权的尊重,而不是对病人的尊重,因为它没有考虑到病人是一个社会和关系主体。事实上,像女权主义和撒哈拉以南非洲本土伦理方法这样的自主权关系方法是很有前途的替代方法。在这篇文章中,我以非洲本土的关系自主方法为例,说明在像 COVID-19 这样的全球卫生紧急事件中,可以用另一种方法来应对脆弱性。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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