Ackerman argues that respecting a patient’s autonomy does not mean a doctor should not interfere on a patient’s decision. He argues that it is a doctor’s duty to interfere and give the patient control over his/her body again. I agree with Ackerman that respecting autonomy does not require noninterference, but I do not agree with his construction of illness or the aspect of control.  He argues that illness interposes the body between us and reality (15). This means that a sick body is lies somewhere between the human experience and reality.  I do not agree with this statement for several reasons. First, it makes humans and reality mutually exclusive. This is a problem because both humans and reality a very much intertwined. Human’s perception of the world around them creates reality. Therefore, one cannot exist without the other.

Second, this view asserts that the ill body creates the separation between humans and reality. In order for this to be true, the body has to be separate from the human. A human body is what makes a person a person because the body is the foundation of all human experiences. Through our bodies, we interact with and get to know the world around us. We create reality through our bodies, thus you cannot separate humans from their bodies. Issues arise when you separate a human from his body because he is no longer considered human. For example, a fetus is not considered a person until it has human bodily features and functions.

Third, this view states that illness is not a part of reality. Every human at some point in time will experience some form of illness. This may be the flu, a cold, cancer, or a broken limb. The human body is susceptible to illness and that is a huge part of our reality. Illness is common in the sense that everyone at some point will get sick, but it is uncommon because people should not get sick often. When a person is frequently ill and that illness hinders him from having other experiences that is when illness becomes a problem. But in most cases of illness people are still very much connected to reality. Illness changes reality, but it does not void it. We have to realize that illness is very much a part of realty and the human experience. I find it very interesting that Western society has made the process of aging an illness. As we get older, our bodies naturally begin to degrade and become more susceptible to disease. That is supposed to happen, yet our society has made aging a disease. There a treatments for wrinkles, sagging body parts, and dysfunctional body parts.

Maybe, illness is not the issue. Maybe the issue is how we conceptualize illness. I believe Ackerman wrongly assumes that we have control over our bodies. He believes that it is the doctor’s job to give us control over our bodies again, but I believe that illness reminds us that we never had control. I do not agree with Ackerman’s justifications for a doctor interfering, but I do agree with his conclusion. Doctors should interfere and help patients, but I do believe that the principle of autonomy is strong enough to support this conclusion, or at least not in the way that Ackerman specifies it.

References

Ackerman, Terrance “Why Doctors Should Intervene” The Hastings Center Report 12 (4): 14-17 (1982).