All four principles of Ethics are of significant importance and neither of the can be simply ignored.

I personally feel that autonomy is the most important. This is so, because Autonomy speaks for equal

rights and respect for all individuals. In a medical context, autonomy provides the right to individuals to

freely determine their own choices and decisions. The best part about Autonomy in medical ethics is the fact that,

it provides protection to those individuals or groups, that are not deemed capable of making their own decisions.

An example of this would be a person who is deemed mentally unfit and suffers from seizures. In this situation, the

patient would be handled in a manner where the best available option of treatment is given to him, despite of what

he might say. A person's life and the way he chooses to live it, should be a matter of his choice and should

be free of interference of others unless he is clearly detrimental to others.

Now, one must consider that autonomy may not always be right and may also clash with the doctor’s duty

of beneficence. For example, a person whose religion forbids him from accepting a blood transfusion may

require one in the situation of an accident. In a situation as such, the patient must be duly informed. The

doctor has a duty to strongly advise the patient the risk of not accepting the transfusion but once the risks

have been relayed to the patient, his decision must be respected as a final one. Once properly informed,

the patient is free to chose whether to accept it in keeping with a strong willingness to live, or whether to

decline to give priority to his religious beliefs, even to the point of accepting death.

In a world that speaks for human rights and individual freedom, autonomy goes hand in hand

with such beliefs.