Closing Remarks: Voluntary Limb Removal and the Challenge to Patient Autonomy
摘要
This chapter concludes the work by retrieving the opening aims, objectives and research questions that drove the present research project, contextualising them, and providing answers. A key focus is on autonomy, which emphasises informed, voluntary decisions free from external and internal control. Body Integrity Dysphoria (BID)’s classification in an officially recognised medical taxonomy, such as the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11), clearly challenges conventional boundaries of medical intervention and autonomy. BID is an oddity. Its classification in the ICD-11 highlights a peculiar gap in medical practice: BID’s recognition without an accepted treatment approach is an anomaly that prompts deeper reflection on the criteria used to assess patient autonomy and decision-making capacity. The very existence of BID as a recognised condition forces a reassessment of other conditions not rooted in physiological dysfunction, raising questions about concepts such as harm, beneficence and non-maleficence. This reflection reveals the significant impact of social norms on both lay and professional perspectives regarding bodily autonomy and the medical options available to individuals who wish to go against such established medical and normative standards.