TY - JOUR T1 - Should public health respect autonomy? JF - Journal of Medical Ethics JO - J Med Ethics SP - 197 LP - 201 DO - 10.1136/jme.18.4.197 VL - 18 IS - 4 AU - S A Hall Y1 - 1992/12/01 UR - http://jme.bmj.com/content/18/4/197.abstract N2 - This paper suggests that public health, due to its community orientation, may be ignoring certain ethical principles--namely the rights of individuals and communities to self-determination. The expectation of individual rights as a member of a community is reviewed and the additional right of a community for self-determination is proposed. The influences on ethical evaluations by the legal and economic environments are suggested, using US examples. The conclusion argues that as the focus of health-care delivery changes, it will become more important to consider these questions of group ethics. ER -