These days it is illegal on the grounds of consent.
However, initially, autonomy seems like a promising ground for informed consent requirements.
But this rationale could easily work the other way around: assuming that the fiduciary relationship is a ground for informed consent (Joffe and Truog 2010, 352ff)., the more fiduciary clinical relationship should demand more, not less, by way of informed consent.
The Commission claimed that British law lacked sufficient tightness regarding interception of data without consent, which was not considered an offence as long as there were "reasonable grounds for believing" user consent had been given.
"Current UK law authorises interception of communications not only where the persons concerned have consented to interception but also when the person intercepting the communications has 'reasonable grounds for believing' that consent to do so has been given.
Furthermore, it is advisable to rely on a different legal ground for processing than for consent, when it is available and applicable [23].
If the risks are different, then perhaps there are also grounds for a reconsideration of consent requirements?
Through this combination of purposes and the lack of transparency Microsoft cannot obtain a legal ground, such as consent, for the processing of data," it further writes.
In Norway, the provision of the patient's right to decide is incorporated in the Patients- and Users Rights Act [ 18], which states that as a main rule health care can only be provided with the patient's consent unless a legal authority exists, or there are other valid grounds for providing health care without consent.
If patients have not registered their wishes or talked about donation the family may still consent, on the grounds, for example, that s/he was the sort of person who wanted to help others.
* p < 0.01 The primary aim of this paper is to evaluate the claim that presumed consent may constitute grounds for the moral duty to treat.
