ACOG Committee on Ethics Number 289, November 2003: Surgery and Patient Choice: The Ethics of Decision Making

Abstract

The purpose of this Committee Opinion is to provide the obstetrician/gynecologist with an approach to decision making based on ethics in an environment of increased patient information, recognition of patient autonomy, direct-to-consumer marketing, and many alternative or investigational treatments. A process for ethical decision making in surgery is discussed, illustrated by an example of elective cesarean delivery.