Sen defined autonomy as liberty understood as freedom to choose.
As the authors emphasize (Beauchamp and Childress 2008, 100 1), autonomy so understood differs from autonomy as having the will that one wants to have (Frankfurt 1988).
Autonomy is understood to be an essential aspect of a good human life, not a separate norm.
If an individual has lost the capacity for autonomy so understood, this view dictates that her current interests (illusory or not) have no authority over decisions on her behalf, and surrogates ought to cater to her former interests, from before the loss.
"I think the word autonomy is understood by the teachers to mean either dictatorship or non-union.
Respect for autonomy was understood as following child/parent preferences, which varied from case to case.
Patient autonomy is understood as self-development relevant to medical care, and the patient's current preferences are open to revision through moral discussion.
Autonomy is understood as the right (and capacity) of an individual to decide for themselves, but that right, the right to choose, is conditional on broader consideration of the impact of those decisions on others (Beauchamp and Childress, 1979).
Moreover, the value of 'respect for autonomy' was understood as having to follow the 'child/parents' preferences' limiting their role to information transfer (i.e., to give relevant information about the patient's prognosis, and benefits and risks of various treatments so that parents were enabled to make an informed decision).
Burkina Faso's national HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) policy adds that counselors must respect client "autonomy" and understand their reasons for refusing; it recommends improved counseling for more women to accept testing [ 35].
