Medical Law & Ethics

This book covers the major topics of medical law and ethics, combining detailed legal description and analysis with moral theory and philosophy. It considers the wider contextual pressures facing the law such as the impact of patient consumerism, and the changing perceptions of medicine. The chapters can be read individually to provide detailed overviews of specific topics or together, as part of the whole, for a comprehensive understanding of the subject. It examines the impact of increasingly direct (international and domestic) recognition of human rights. It details all legislative developments including the Human Tissue Act 2004 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005, as well as all key secondary legislation. This book covers significant case law including Gregg v Scot; Re R (A Child) (IVF: Paternity of Child); R (Burke) v GMC; Chester v Afshar; R (Bruno Quintavalle on behalf of Pro-Life Alliance) v Secretary of State for Health; and R (Josephine Quintavalle on behalf of Comment on Reproductive Ethics) v HFEA. It includes reference to international instruments and the laws of other jurisdictions enabling students to compare with domestic law.