informed consent

American  

noun

1. a patient's consent to a medical or surgical procedure or to participation in a clinical study after being properly advised of the relevant medical facts and the risks involved.

---

Etymology

Origin of informed consent

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Half of Scotland's 32 councils pulled out of the census following concerns about a lack of informed consent and worries over the anonymity for pupils.

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2026

That included informed consent, as well as questioning the ethics of prescribing “nothing.”

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2026

Kennedy said the move brought the U.S. in line with other countries, while strengthening informed consent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

“We are restoring the balance of informed consent to parents whose newborns face little risk of contracting hepatitis B,” the CDC’s acting director, Jim O’Neill, said in a statement.

From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025

Research on inmates would come under scrutiny and start being heavily regulated about fifteen years later, because they’d be considered a vulnerable population unable to give informed consent.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot