(Re)constructing the autonomous self : an empirical feminist inquiry into gender and the autonomy ideal.

Abstract

Informed consent procedures are an essential part of the ethical conduct of research, including clinical trials. The principle of autonomy justifies this process. However, it is clear that conventional assumptions about autonomy offer limited guidance in many countries where clinical research on non-Western populations is conducted by Western researchers. Beginning with a brief review of conventional approaches to autonomy, the present research explored feminist alternatives to this principle, drawn from self-in-relation and care theories.