Paternalism: thinking you know what’s best for others.
The medical industry has gotten the test results and from their perspective, and as TV host Murray would say, “You are the father.” However, we don’t live in a paternalistic society and we can refuse medical treatment as any time. However, as the author points out ” Yet, if paternalist medical interventions are impermissible, why aren’t paternalist limitations on self-medication also impermissible?”
This becomes the puzzle. Theoretically, we can refuse the treatment for insulin and witch to a diet but we can’t refuse the diet and get the insulin. Then the questions becomes should we be able to? I personally think that the limited paternalism surrounding the medical industry is in fact ethical. We aren’t all licensced medical professional and we just straight up have no clue about what is always best for us. Of course, this does come with its long list of EXCEPTIONS. However, so does all of life. In the long run the puzzle of the paternalism in the medical industry doesn’t seem much of a puzzle at all. We are all grown adults moved out and when we go back “home” ( seek medical help) then we are in somone else’s house with their own rules, regulations and paternalistic advice. Maybe, we should just respect the advice and take some and throw out the others.
I thought this article was so interesting. It is a perspective that I truly have never thought of and the argument makes a lot of good points. I know there are many problems in the medical world now when it comes to prescribing drugs, like the opioid crisis or certain demographics being under-perscribed. It is a complicated issue and I agree that there are many exceptions with any solution to the complex problem.
I’m inclined to agree that medical professionals are the authority on what is generally the best course of action for their patients. However, with the opioid crisis and abuse of prescription drugs those dependencies often occur when doctors prescribe these medicines and don’t fully address the risks and these patients assume that they’re safe because they come from a doctor, and continue to find ways to obtain these drugs even without a prescription. There are also cases where patients are denied medicines because they don’t have access to a doctor who can prescribe them or their doctor doesn’t believe them. How do we reconcile a paternalistic drug enforcement in cases like those? How much benefit does it really provide?
I would not feel comfortable making medical decisions for myself and do see the validity in trusting people that have been through A LOT of school and have a license to practice medicine. At the same time, I feel like I do hear about a lot of instances where there are less comon conditions that people simply cannot find a doctor that will listen to them about or not all doctors will provide enough information about. That kind of makes me question whether there are instances when being able to self-medicate could be really helpful, but at the same time there are a lot of things that could go wrong.