Valid Consent to Objectifying Treatment should be Allowed

Abstract

In South Africa, as in various other countries, human dignity has come to be regarded as a supreme value and an objective legal norm. This understanding of dignity is not, however, always commended. One of the dangers of viewing dignity as a supreme value is that it can be used to support a paternalistic role for the state. The state has the power to make any laws as long as it can argue that it serves to protect human dignity. This kind of paternalism often inhibits the individual and personal freedom of citizens.