Although patients’ medical gender transition can be facilitated by counseling, as a matter of medical ethics, informed consent must be obtained for treatment.

In referring transgender patients for medical transition, clinicians should be guided by harm reduction, respect for autonomy, and continuity of care.

The informed consent model for gender-affirming medical treatment emphasizes patient autonomy in choosing care without involving mental health professionals.

In some cases, hope might not have substantial ethical or therapeutic value.

Physicians should provide women considering abortion after Down syndrome screening with unbiased information and not attempt to influence their decision.

Treatment decisions in high-risk situations require a dynamic relationship between doctor and patient in which patient preferences and clinician recommendations contribute equally in shaping a final treatment decision.

Respect for informed, autonomous decision making demands that useful, if anxiety-provoking, information about age-related decline in fertility not be withheld from women.

Until measures of training and experience can be correlated with patient outcomes, information about a clinic's experience with egg freezing will not be useful in patient decision making.

The medical community should formulate guidelines for appropriate use of organ-replacement therapies, taking into consideration the resources involved and the clinical expectation that the therapy can serve as a bridge to recovery or transplantation or can be a destination therapy.

When a patient requests an unfamiliar treatment, the physician should not hesitate to research it before giving a categorical reply about its safety or efficacy.