The difference between soft and hard paternalism is that soft paternalism is overriding the preferences of a person who is not autonomous, or acting in a way that is not fully voluntary. Whereas, hard paternalism is overriding the preferences of a person who is competent with respect to the issue on hand. An example of paternalism is the safety of an individual’s height regulation to be permitted to ride a roller coaster. This is an example because height regulation interferes with the individual’s will or desire to ride the rollercoaster, but has to obey the safety regulations in order to protect the individual’s well-being. Safety regulation to prevent harm is classified as negative paternalism. An example of positive paternalism is when a blood transfusion is given to a patient without his/her consent because medical judgments advise that he/she will not survive the effects of a necessary surgery without such treatment. This is an example of positive paternalism because the medical judgement is seeking to promote good.
There has been many cases in the medical context that strike whether the case shows …show more content…
In order to make an autonomous decision, the patient needs to think rationally and be fully competent but some people are put in critical situations that does not allow them to have full competence. In high stress environments, judgements can be filled with emotions from fear and pain creating no safety net to agree on the best possible outcome. In order to do so, medical paternalism is exercised because there needs to be an understanding between the doctor and patient. The physician is there to advise the patient to ultimately make the best decision regarding their own care. Preserving an individual’s life is the best interest of a physician therefore, the physician is looking out for the patient’s best
There has been many cases in the medical context that strike whether the case shows …show more content…
In order to make an autonomous decision, the patient needs to think rationally and be fully competent but some people are put in critical situations that does not allow them to have full competence. In high stress environments, judgements can be filled with emotions from fear and pain creating no safety net to agree on the best possible outcome. In order to do so, medical paternalism is exercised because there needs to be an understanding between the doctor and patient. The physician is there to advise the patient to ultimately make the best decision regarding their own care. Preserving an individual’s life is the best interest of a physician therefore, the physician is looking out for the patient’s best