The extent of medical reverse paternalism in lebanon and its ethical implications

Different occupations and professions in almost every society, and despite all the ethical frameworks that govern professions by professional ethics, it is widely noticed that there are still challenges facing each profession. One of those ethical challenges is related to paternalism. Paternalism is the act of interfering with a person´s autonomy by making decisions for them claiming that it is “for their own good”. In a developing country like Lebanon, an ethical dilemma that is commonly present in the field of medicine, which will be termed and defined for the first time; reverse paternalism. Reverse paternalism refers to the act of sacrificing one´s autonomy and self-determination and giving another person or group the right for making decisions on their behalf. People are considered moral agents and some are giving up their autonomy and rights for making decisions to medical practitioners because “they know better”. The main focus of this paper is therefore on reverse paternalism that will be investigated as an ethical dilemma being faced in Lebanon. What exactly is reverse paternalism? Are there regulations that restrict such kind of paternalism? How do medical practitioners act in such situations? And to what extent is there auditing over what happens in hospitals, private clinics, medical centers and institutions? Our aim is to shed the light on this ethical dilemma and highlight how serious and wide spread it has become. A survey questionnaire is developed for the purpose of scientifically validating the proposed phenomenon.