Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

Publication Information

59 UIC Law Review 615 (2026)

Abstract

Patients in the United States are subject to an ever-growing “avalanche” of unwanted medical treatment (UMT).  This is ethically, economically, and legally wrong. First, UMT constitutes a serious violation of patient autonomy and self-determination.  Second, it is waste (and often fraud or abuse) of scarce healthcare resources.  Third, but for rare exceptions, administering UMT contravenes settled legal rules and principles around consent and battery.

This article describe four types of unwanted medical treatment and how the law addresses (or fails to address) them.  The four types of UMT are (1) treatment over patient objections, (2) treatment with zero consent, (3) treatment with coerced consent, and (4) treatment with uninformed consent. This legal taxonomy highlights the full scope and scale of UMT.

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