Ethics can be defined as the moral principles that govern a group or person’s behavior, and they’re derived from the ethos of that group. Ethics change because of the beliefs and values of society change. These ethics are generally based on the relationships, interactions, and the expectations of the people in the society. As these thoughts and beliefs change, behaviors are forced to change, in turn, thoughts and attitudes are reluctant to change as well. Over the past century, it was believed that many patients were denied information regarding their medical issues. In a study survey conducted in 1961, at a veteran’s hospital, 90% of physicians reported that for ethical reasons they preferred to not disclose or denied cancer diagnoses to patients. This was because some doctors could not handle themselves during disclosure, some did not want patents to lean on them for emotional support, and some wanted to preserve peace

in the ward. In the past 60 years, the process of decision making solely laid upon the physician’s hands. It has changed from the paternalism to the autonomy and shifted the control from physicians to patients. Autonomy is defined as a principle of ethics that assumes a certain level of respect for persons and their ability to take actions that affect their health. Federal laws have been instated that provide patients with the opportunities that were not provided back then. Laws such as HIPAA (1996), which gives you rights to your personal health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive your health information, as well as The Patient Self-Determination Act (1991) that encourages all people to make choices and decisions about the types and extent of medical care they want to accept or refuse should they become unable to make those decisions due to illness. Providers have become obligated to honor patients’directions, including whether or not it is in their desire to be resuscitated.