Abstract
In Spain, as a general principle, there is a patient’s right to decide with respect to his own treatment. This implies the need for consent on his part (or, where he is not in a position do so, that of his legal representative) once he has received the necessary information (“informed consent“) and also his right to refuse consent if he considers it appropriate for his personal interests. The General Health Law 14/1986 of 25 April (GHL), assumes this twin right and stipulates that patients and their next-of-kin or relations shall be given full and constant verbal and written comprehensible information on the process, including diagnosis, prognosis and alternative forms of treatment (article 10.5), and also that the patient shall be entitled to choose freely between options given by the physician in charge, in which case the written consent of the user shall be necessary before any intervention may be carried out (article 10.6), save where the patient does not have the capacity to take decisions (the consent would then be given by his next-of-kin or those close to him). The Law states also that a patient may refuse treatment, in which case he shall request to be discharged of his own wish (article 10.9). This last requirement has come in for criticism and rightly so, except if it is to be understood that his refusal covers all treatment, including alternatives proposed by the physician.
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D. Bibliography
I. References to Books and to Articles in Periodicals
• ALFONSO PEREZ, M. “Reflexiones sobre el concepto y valor de la persona en el Derecho Civil de España“(Reflections about the concept and value of the person in the Spanish Civil Law), Actualidad de Derecho Civil, 1983, pp. 1117–1127.
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• BERCOVITZ, R., “El examen por el Juez del presunto incapaz en el procedimiento de incapacitaciön“(The exam done by the Judge in relation to the presumed incapable in the procedure of incapacity), Poder Judicial, 1989, Núm. 15, pp. 141–147.
• DIEZ-PICAZO, Luís GULLON, Antonio, Sistema de Derecho Civil, (Civil Law) Ed. Tecnos, (Madrid, 1998).
• FRAGA MANDIAN, A. LAMAS MEILAN, M.M., El consentimiento informado. El consentimiento informado del paciente en la actividad médicoquirúrgica (Informed consent). (Pontevedra 1999).
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• LACRUZ BERDEJO SANCHO REBULLIDA LUNA SERRANO DEL-GADO ECHEVARRIA RIVERO HERNANDEZ, Elementos de Derecho Civil. Personas. (Elements in Civil Law. Persons), ed. Cometa (Zaragoza, 1990).
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• RAMOS CHAPARRO, Enrique, La persona y su capacidad civil, (The person and his/her civil capacity) Ed. Tecnos, (Madrid, 1995).
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos Maria, “Estudio específico del problema de la muerte en el donante cadáver a la vista de las innovaciones científicas y tecnológicas ocurridas en las ciencias biomédicas“, (Specific study of the problem of death in the deceased donor looking at the scientific and technological innovations ocurred in the biomedical sciences) Revista General de Trasplantes, Vol. 2, extraordinario 1, 1993, pp. 36–43.
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos María, “¿Limites de la posiciön de garante de los padres respecto al hijo menor?“ (Parent’s negative by religious reasons to consent a vital blood transfusion to their minor sons), Revista de Derecho Penal y Criminología, Vol. 2, Num. 2, 1998, pp. 327–357.
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos Maria, HERNANDEZ, Ulises SOLA RE-CHE, Esteban, International Encyclopaedias of Law/Medical Law. Spain (Kluwer Publishers, Deventer, Holland, 1994, (original published in english).
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos María, Del Gen al Derecho (From Gene to Law) (Bogota, Colombia, 1996).
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos María, Do gene ao direito (From Gene to Law), Instituto Brasileiro de Ciências Criminails. (Sâo Paulo, Brasil, 1999).
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos María, El Derecho y la Bioética ante los límites de la vida humana (Law and Bioethics in the face of the limits of human life) (Madrid, 1994).
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos Maria, El Médico ante el Derecho (la responsabilidad penal y civil del medico) (The Doctor in the face of the Law (the penal and civil responsibility of doctors) (Madrid, 1985).
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos María, Los trasplantes de órganos. Informe y documentación para la reforma de la legislación española sobre trasplantes de ôrganos (Organ transplantation. Report and Documentation for the Reform of the Spanish Legislation on organ transplantation) (Barcelona, 1979).
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos María, Some Implications of Human Genome Analysis and Research in Spanish Law (in Erwin Deutsch A. Sinde Monteiro eds., “Genome Analysis. Legal rules-practical application“, Coimbra, 1994).
• ROMEO CASABONA, Carlos Maria, The Reform of Human Rights from the Perspective of the Identification of “New“ Human Rights. Human Rights and the Biomedical Sciences (in “The Reform of International Institutions for the Protection of Human Rights“, Bruylant, Brussels, 1993, pp. 62–80; also in separate French and Spanish editions).
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Romeo-Casabona, C.M., Emaldi-Cirión, A. (2000). Country Report Spain. In: Taupitz, J. (eds) Zivilrechtliche Regelungen zur Absicherung der Patientenautonomie am Ende des Lebens / Regulations of Civil Law to Safeguard the Autonomy of Patients at the End of Their Life. Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Deutsches, Europäisches und Internationales Medizinrecht, Gesundheitsrecht und Bioethik der Universitäten Heidelberg und Mannheim, vol 4. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57256-2_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-57256-2_9
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