This textbook is an ambitious and engaging introduction to the more advanced writings on medical law and ethics, primarily designed to allow students to 'get under the skin' of the topic and begin to build their critical thinking and analysis skills. Each chapter is structured around key questions and debates that provoke deeper thought and, ultimately, a clearer understanding. The aim of the book is not to present a complete overview of theoretical issues in medical law and ethics, but rather to illustrate the current debates which are currently going on among those working in and shaping the area. The text features summaries of the views of notable experts on key topics and each chapter ends with a list of guided further reading. A perfect book for students taking a module in medical law, or for those wanting to deepen their knowledge. New to this Edition: - The Supreme Court decision in Montgomery receives extensive discussion and analysis - Recent developments on the best interests test under the Mental Capacity Act are explored - The latest case law on end of life decision making is set out - Debates over whether abortion should be decriminalised are examined - The Charlie Gard case is considered
Medical Law and Ethics is a feature-rich introduction to medical law and ethics, discussing key principles, cases, and statutes. It provides examination of a range of perspectives on the topic, such as feminist, religious, and sociological, enabling readers to not only understand the law but also the tensions between different ethical notions.
Providing a clear and accessible guide to medical law, this work contains extracts from a wide variety of academic materials so that students can acquire a good understanding of a range of different perspectives.
This book, for the first time, offers a comparative study of the origins of professional and public debates on medical confidentiality in the US, Britain, and Germany during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In this period traditional medical secrecy began to be seriously contested by demands for disclosure in the name of public health and the law. Andreas-Holger Maehle examines three representative debates: Do physicians and surgeons have a privilege to refuse to give evidence in court about confidential patient details? Can doctors breach patient confidence in order to prevent the spread of disease? And is there a medical duty to report illegal procedures to the authorities? The comparative approach reveals significant differences and similarities among the three countries concerned, and the book s historical perspective illuminates the fundamental ethical issues at stake that continue to give rise to public debate."
Autonomy is a vital principle in medical law and ethics. It occupies a prominent place in all medico-legal and ethical debate. But there is a dangerous presumption that it should have the only vote, or at least the casting vote. This book is an assault on that presumption, and an audit of autonomy's extraordinary status. This book surveys the main issues in medical law, noting in relation to each issue the power wielded by autonomy, asking whether that power can be justified, and suggesting how other principles can and should contribute to the law. It concludes that autonomy's status cannot be intellectually or ethically justified, and that positive discrimination in favour of the other balancing principles is urgently needed in order to avoid some sinister results. 'This book is a sustained attack on the hegemony of the idea of autonomy in medical ethics and law. Charles Foster is no respecter of authority, whether of university professors or of law Lords. He grabs his readers by their lapels and shakes sense into them through a combination of no-nonsense rhetoric and subtle argument that is difficult to resist.' Tony Hope, Professor of Medical Ethics, Oxford University 'This book is unlikely to be in pristine state by the time you have finished reading it. Whether that is because you have thrown it in the air in celebration or thrown it across the room in frustration will depend on your perspective. But this book cannot leave you cold. It is a powerful polemic on the dominance of autonomy in medical law, which demands a reaction. Charles Foster sets out a powerful case that academic medical lawyers have elevated autonomy to a status it does not deserve in either ethical or legal terms. In a highly engaging, accessible account, he challenges many of the views which have become orthodox within the academic community. This will be a book which demands and will attract considerable debate.' Jonathan Herring, Exeter College, Oxford University 'This is a learned, lively and thought-provoking discussion of problems central to the courts' approach to ethical issues in medical law. What principles are involved? More significantly, which really underlie and inform the process of seeking justice in difficult cases? Charles Foster persuasively argues, and demonstrates, that respect for autonomy is but one of a number of ethical principles which interact and may conflict. He also addresses the sensitive issue of the extent to which thoughts and factors which go to influence legal decisions may not appear in the judgments.' Adrian Whitfield QC. 'Introducing the Jake La Motta of medical ethics. Foster is an academic street-fighter who has bloodied his hands in the court room. He provides a stinging, relentless, ground attack on the Goliath of medical ethics: the central place of autonomy in liberal medical ethics. This is now the first port of call for those who feel that medical ethics has become autonomized.' Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics, University of Oxford. "This important book offers a robust challenge to anyone, whether lawyer or 'ethicist', who sees respect for autonomy as the only game in town. It argues eloquently and effectively that, on the one hand, despite the reverence paid to it by judges, in practice the law, even in the context of consent, weaves together a number of moral threads of which autonomy is merely one, in the pursuit of a good decision. It argues on the other hand, that were the day-to-day practice of law to be guided primarily by respect for autonomy, this would be wrong. Foster concludes that whilst, 'any society that does not have laws robustly protecting autonomy is an unsafe and unhappy one', so too would be a society in which too much emphasis was placed on respect for autonomy at the expense of other important moral principles. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of autonomy and indeed of medical ethics, in the law." Michael Parker, Professor of Bioethics, University of Oxford
Jonathan Herring provides a clear and engaging overview of legal ethics, highlighting the ethical issues surrounding professional conduct and raising interesting questions about how lawyers act and what their role entails. Key topics, such as confidentiality and fees, are covered with references throughout to the professional codes of conduct.
The first textbook to consider gender perspectives in relation to the whole undergraduate law curriculum in England and Wales. Gender is of central importance in every area of law and every area of people's lives but is rarely mentioned in the formal LLB syllabus; this book is designed to fill some of those gaps. 18 chapters, written by experts in the field, cover all the core modules on the English LLB together with 11 of the most popular options. Aimed at students and lecturers on undergraduate and postgraduate Gender and Law modules, the book will also be useful for all LLB and LLM students studying English law, who may use it to accompany their studies from their first to their final year, and also for prospective law students, legal scholars from outside England and Wales, and scholars in other disciplines.
Whether the law should permit voluntary euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide is one of the most vital questions facing all modern societies. Internationally, the main obstacle to legalisation has proved to be the objection that, even if they were morally acceptable in certain 'hard cases', voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide could not be effectively controlled; society would slide down a 'slippery slope' to the killing of patients who did not make a free and informed request, or for whom palliative care would have offered an alternative. How cogent is this objection? This book provides the general reader (who need have no expertise in philosophy, law or medicine) with a lucid introduction to this central question in the debate, not least by reviewing the Dutch euthanasia experience. It will interest all in any country whether currently for or against legalisation, who wish to ensure that their opinions are better informed.
