Medical ethicists conventionally assume that the requirement to employ informed consent procedures is grounded in autonomy. 1 Though there is philosophical debate about autonomy, most philosophers agree that the core notion is the idea of ‘‘steering the direction of one’s life, determining how to behave, and deciding what projects to engage in.’’2 If we focus on steering one’s life as the essence of autonomy, it seems natural to think that autonomy is best protected and facilitated through the employment of informed consent procedures. When a patient consents to a procedure, he endorses the proposed course of action as in line with his intentions and affirms that it is his own decision. However, we require not just consent to medical procedures, but informed consent. Informed consent places emphasis on providing information to a patient, and making sure that it is adequately understood. The provision of relevant information is particularly important to autonomy, since this information may enable her to better steer her life. Thus, informed consent guidelines provide an appropriate means of protecting and facilitating autonomy in patients.