Embryo research, cloning, assisted conception, neonatal care, pandemic vaccine development, saviour siblings, organ transplants, drug trials - modern developments have transformed the field of medicine almost beyond recognition in recent decades and the law struggles to keep up. In this highly acclaimed and very accessible book Margaret Brazier, Emma Cave and Rob Heywood provide an incisive survey of the legal situation in areas as diverse as fertility treatment, patient consent, assisted dying, malpractice and medical privacy. The seventh edition of this book has been fully revised and updated to cover the latest cases, Brexit-related regulatory reform and COVID-19 pandemic measures. Essential reading for healthcare professionals, lecturers, medical and law students, this book is of relevance to all whose perusal of the daily news causes wonder, hope and consternation at the advances and limitations of medicine, patients and the law. -- .

This book explores the reality of patient control and choice in health care, and analyses how decisions should be made on behalf of those deemed incapable of making them for themselves. The contributors are distinguished experts from the disciplines of medicine, ethics, theology and law. They look at the complex problem of autonomy and consent in health care and clinical research today and its impact on the vulnerable members of society. The essays move from the exploration of lingering paternalism in health care to the acute dilemmas of treatment of and research on new born babies. In covering both general and specific problems the collection reveals how exploitation can occur, when the right of autonomy is eroded and where informed consent is illusory. Particularly vulnerable groups, such as children and people with mental handicaps, are discussed alongside cases where the vulnerability is itself an issue. A study of attitudes to female sterilisation provides a vivid example of the problems of autonomy and consent. This book should be of interest to students and teachers of ethics, health care professionals and lawyers involved in health care issues.

The right of adults with sound mind to consent to treatment or risk their own health for the benefit of the community in a clinical trial is unequivocally recognised by the law. But what about those vulnerable by virtue of their age, nature or position in society? Experts from the fields of medicine, philosophy, theology and law, explore the ethical and legal principles which seek to reconcile the individual's right to autonomy with the need to protect vulnerable groups. Discussions refer both to specific groups (premature babies, children, people with mental handicaps) and specific issues (cases of abuse by sterilization of women, suicide, the right to information).

Exploring key aspects in the history of law's engagement with healthcare in England, this book unearths fascinating stories of the fractious relationship between the two highlighting lessons for medical law and bioethics that a focus on their history can offer. The popular view that the courts and legislators have from time immemorial consistently deferred to medical practitioners is shown to be wrong. Regulation of healers and the doctor/patient relationship and law's response to battles for dominance between different sorts of healers are examined. Healthcare in a broader sense than simply medical treatment is addressed. Considering historical perceptions of the human body at all life stages from the womb to the grave, the work identifies themes running through the history of how law responds to the problems generated by understanding of bodies and how science changes popular perceptions and law. -- .

Embryo research, cloning, assisted conception, neonatal care, saviour siblings, organ transplants, drug trials - modern developments have transformed the field of medicine almost beyond recognition in recent decades and the law struggles to keep up. In this highly acclaimed and very accessible book, now in its sixth edition, Margaret Brazier and Emma Cave provide an incisive survey of the legal situation in areas as diverse as fertility treatment, patient consent, assisted dying, malpractice and medical privacy. The book has been fully revised and updated to cover the latest cases, from assisted dying to informed consent; legislative reform of the NHS, professional regulation and redress; European regulations on data protection and clinical trials; and legislation and policy reforms on organ donation, assisted conception and mental capacity. Essential reading for healthcare professionals, lecturers, medical and law students, this book is of relevance to all whose perusal of the daily news causes wonder, hope and consternation at the advances and limitations of medicine, patients and the law. -- .

Embryo research, cloning, assisted conception, neonatal care, pandemic vaccine development, saviour siblings, organ transplants, drug trials - modern developments have transformed the field of medicine almost beyond recognition in recent decades and the law struggles to keep up. In this highly acclaimed and very accessible book Margaret Brazier, Emma Cave and Rob Heywood provide an incisive survey of the legal situation in areas as diverse as fertility treatment, patient consent, assisted dying, malpractice and medical privacy. The seventh edition of this book has been fully revised and updated to cover the latest cases, Brexit-related regulatory reform and COVID-19 pandemic measures. Essential reading for healthcare professionals, lecturers, medical and law students, this book is of relevance to all whose perusal of the daily news causes wonder, hope and consternation at the advances and limitations of medicine, patients and the law. -- .

To date, little analysis exists of the criminal process's roles as a regulator of medical practice and as an arbiter of bioethics, nor whether criminal law is an appropriate forum for judging ethical medical dilemmas. The conscription of criminal law into moral controversy and the (perceived) rise in criminal investigations of medical errors sets the backdrop for this innovative historical and theoretical analysis of the relationship between medicine, bioethics and the criminal process. Case studies on abortion, end of life and the separation of conjoined twins reveal how judges grapple with bioethics in criminal cases and the impact of 'theatre' on the criminal law's response to ethically controversial medical cases. A central argument is that bioethics and criminal law are not necessarily incompatible; rather, it is the theatre surrounding interactions between bioethics and criminal law that often distorts and creates tension.