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. 2012 Jun;37(3):226-54.
doi: 10.1093/jmp/jhs016. Epub 2012 May 2.

Voluntary consent: why a value-neutral concept won't work

Alan Wertheimer  1
Affiliations

Voluntary consent: why a value-neutral concept won't work

Alan Wertheimer. J Med Philos. 2012 Jun.

Abstract

Some maintain that voluntariness is a value-neutral concept. On that view, someone acts involuntarily if subject to a controlling influence or has no acceptable alternatives. I argue that a value-neutral conception of voluntariness cannot explain when and why consent is invalid and that we need a moralized account of voluntariness. On that view, most concerns about the voluntariness of consent to participate in research are not well founded.

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