ABSTRACT
Bioethicists generally agree that (1) patients should be able to decide for themselves which medical treatments they will accept, and which they will refuse; (2) only patients who are competent to make decisions for themselves should have their decisions respected in this way; and (3) this is required out of respect for patient autonomy. Given the centrality in contemporary bioethics of the concepts of “competence” and “autonomy,” it is important to understand what conditions must be met for a patient to be competent, or to be autonomous, and what relationships hold between these attributes. The aim of this chapter is to provide an outline of these issues, with special attention being paid to their relevance for end-of-life decision-making.
