Con-Senso

Does informed consent truly guarantee a subjective, free, and informed right to health for everyone, without discrimination? In other words, does informed consent—as it is actually practiced—serve as a guarantor of rights? This paper will attempt to answer these questions by presenting the findings of an anthropological study conducted in the gynecology and obstetrics department of a university hospital in the Emilia-Romagna region. Drawing on philosophical and legal reflections, the author examines the capacity of fundamental rights—and in particular the right to health—to become substantive in the contemporary intercultural context. Enforceability in everyday practice must, in fact, be understood by considering the various dimensions of power that characterize relationships, first and foremost the doctor-patient relationship. Through the ethnography of healthcare practices, the ways in which informed consent is implemented engage in a dialogue with reflections on the critical issues and dysfunctions inherent in the corporate logic that structures the encounter between biomedical knowledge and citizens.