en تخصصي Special Review Article <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Introduction</strong>: Independence or autonomy is one of the fundamental rights of patients that must be respected by health professionals in all medical interventions and diagnostic and therapeutic measures. In conditions of infectious disease, the health system, in order to fulfill its moral and legal duty to protect the health of the community, is sometimes forced to violate this principle and limit the autonomy and right to choose of patients. This ethical dilemma is the subject of discussion in this article.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Material and Methods</strong>: The present study is a review of articles, books, and ethical charters in the field of patient and community rights. To achieve the goal, articles and books published between 2000 and 2024 were reviewed.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Conclusion</strong>: It seems that although violating the principle of respecting the patient&#39;s right to autonomy in conditions of widespread disease is morally justified, complete disregard for this right and arbitrary restriction of it without sufficient evidence, in addition to violating the patient&#39;s fundamental rights, will also damage public trust and the social capital of the health system, and will make it difficult for this institution to achieve its major goals and attract public participation.</span></span></p> Patient autonomy, Patient's Charter of Rights, Ethical dilemma, Public health, Widespread diseases 1 9 http://ijethics.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-374-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Zehra Baris z.baris12@gmail.com 10031947532846003407 0009-0005-0844-1059 Yes Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Turkey Mustafa Demirci mustafademirci@yahoo.com 10031947532846003408 10031947532846003408 No Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Turkey Burak Balik balik.1421@yahoo.com 10031947532846003409 10031947532846003409 No Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Turkey Serdar Balik serdarturk@gmail.com 10031947532846003410 0009-0006-5245-1243 No Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Turkey