Limping is No Sin: Reflections on Making Health Care Decisions

The President\u27s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research ( President\u27s Commission or Commission ), in its report on Making Health Care Decisions ( Report ),l proclaimed its underlying message in memorable words: [T]he Commission attempts to shift the terms of the discussion toward how to foster a relationship between patients and professionals characterized by mutual participation and respect and by shared decisionmaking. The Commission believes such a shift in focus will do better justice to the realities of health care and to the ethical values underlying the informed consent doctrine. Such sentiments constitute a bold move to imprint on physicians, patients, and society the Commission\u27s moral vision of how doctors and patients should make joint decisions in the future