For my pains I chaired a psychology ethics committee for many years. We often mused on the concept of informed consent. This is what the NHS says:
Voluntary and informed consent
For consent to be valid, it must be voluntary and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision. The meaning of these terms are:
- voluntary – the decision to either consent or not to consent to treatment must be made by the person, and must not be influenced by pressure from medical staff, friends or family;
- informed – the person must be given all of the information about what the treatment involves, including the benefits and risks, whether there are reasonable alternative treatments, and what will happen if treatment does not go ahead;
- capacity – the person must be capable of giving consent, which means they understand the information given to them and can use it to make an informed decision.”