Rethinking Informed Consent in Bioethics

Reviews / Votes

'In this important book, Manson and O'Neill propose a new way of thinking about informed consent - one emphasising the importance of norms appropriate for successful communication such as intelligibility, relevance, accuracy and honesty. This is a significant, timely and internationally relevant contribution to the bioethics literature. It should be essential reading for anyone interested in the ethics of medical research and treatment and in particular for anyone involved in the development of ethics policy.' Michael Parker, Professor of Bioethics and Director of The Ethox Centre, University of Oxford 'This is a ground-breaking book. The idea that information is dynamic, that what, in this genetic age, even comprises information, receives intelligent, thorough, and necessary reflection. The focus on the activity of communicating as opposed to what is being communicated holds great promise. Such a move opens up a perspective where obligations do not attach a priori to certain kinds of information, but to the manner in which actual engagement with such information occurs. This begins to get at a complexity, in the area of informed consent, that has been missed.' Mark Sheldon, Professor of Philosophy, Northwestern University