PEDIATRICS Vol. 70 No. 4 October 1982, pp. 556
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INFORMED CONSENT

Student

Let us address ourselves to the problem of informed consent. I believe, as a physician who has had prior contact with the family, that I can persuade 99% of parents to my way of thinking if I really work at it, even if I am 100% wrong. If I tell them in such a way that I appear concerned and that I am knowledgeable and that I have their interests at heart and the interest of their foetus or their newborn baby, there is no question they will be totally agreeable to my suggestion. I think informed consent is an absolute farce, legalistically, morally and ethically. The information is what I want it to be. Certainly, the physician must try to involve the parents in decision making. He should do so to the maximum extent feasible, but we are fooling ourselves if we believe that the parent or the physician can make all the decisions.—Director of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.