What is paternalism?

• A. Respecting a patient's autonomous decisions
• B. The decision to involve family in care
• C. The overriding of a person's actions or decisions making for his or her own good
• D. A policy that supports individual liberty

Answer: (C)

Paternalism is the overriding of a person's actions or decisions for his or her own good. In healthcare, this means someone in authority makes a medical choice for a patient or withholds information because they believe it’s best, even if the patient would choose differently. This concept sits in tension with respecting patient autonomy, which is about honoring the patient’s own preferences and right to decide. The other options describe different ideas—involving family in care and policies that protect individual liberty—without capturing the act of forcefully guiding or restricting someone’s choices for their supposed beneficence. Paternalism raises ethical questions because it values beneficence over self-determination, though it can be justified in certain urgent or vulnerable situations.