Medical Law and Ethics — Overview

Discussion Groups

These self-sustaining groups are an essential part of the life of our graduate school. They are organised in some cases by graduate students and in others by Faculty members and meet regularly during term, typically over a sandwich lunch, when one of the group presents work in progress or introduces a discussion of a particular issue or new case. They may also encompass guest speakers from the faculty and beyond.

Medical Law and Ethics Discussion Group

Publications

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I Goold, Flesh and Blood: Owning Our Bodies\' Parts (Hart Publishing 2013) (forthcoming)

I Goold and Julian Savulescu, 'Freezing Eggs for Lifestyle Reasons' (2008) 8 American Journal of Bioethics 32 [...]

Only around 50% of women who postpone childbearing until their 30s conceive in the 6 years following. Infertility causes significant harm to those who suffer it, and we argue for promoting access to treatments, such as cryopreservation of eggs, to enable women to pursue their reproductive goals as they choose.


ISBN: 15265161

I Goold and Julian Savulescu, 'In Favour of Freezing Eggs for Non-Medical Reasons' (2009) 23 Bioethics 47 [...]

This article explores the social benefits and moral arguments in favour of women and couples freezing eggs and embryos for social reasons. Social IVF promotes equal participation by women in employment; it offers women more time to choose a partner; it provides better opportunities for the child as it allows couples more time to become financially stable; it may reduce the risk of genetic and chromosomal abnormality; it allows women and couples to have another child if circumstances change; it offers an option to women and children at risk of ovarian failure; it may increase the egg and embryo pool. There are strong arguments based on equal concern and respect for women which require that women have access to this new technology. Freezing eggs also avoids some of the moral objections associated with freezing embryos.


ISBN: 02699702

I Goold and C Kelly (eds), Lawyers’ Medicine: The Historical Interaction of Medicine and the Legislature, 1760-2000 (Hart Publishing 2009) [...]

This book investigates how the requirements, limitations and intellectual structure of the British legal process have shaped medicine and medical practice. The story of this inter-relationship is greatly under-researched, which is particularly concerning given that the legal system remains a significant and pervasive influence on medicine and its practice to this day. The question which unifies the series of historical studies presented here is whether legal consideration of medical practice and concepts has played a part in the construction of medical concepts and affected developments in medical practice - in other words how the external, legal gaze has shaped the way medicine itself conceptualises some of its practices and classifications. The majority of the chapters consider this question in the context of the development and application of legislation, but the influence of court processes is also considered. Other themes which emerge from the book include the nature and exclusivity of medical expertise, the impact of public opinion on the development of medical legislation, and the difficulty the legal system has faced in dealing with new medical developments. The chapters are arranged chronologically, with an introduction drawing out themes that emerge from the chapters as a whole.


ISBN: 978-1-84113-849-7

I Goold and C Kelly, 'Lawyers’ Medicine: The Interaction of the Medical Profession and the Law, 1760–2000' in Imogen Goold and Catherine Kelly (eds), Lawyers’ Medicine: The Historical Interaction of Medicine and the Legislature, 1760-2000 (Hart Publishing 2009) [...]

The 19th and 20th centuries were notable for two major and concurrent changes which have helped to shape modern Britain. It is the interplay of these processes which is the subject of this collected volume. One was the rapid development of medical science, which progressed through various stages allowing it increasingly to assert the ‘scientific certainty’ of medical conclusions or opinions. Over the same period, the role and regulatory activities of British government were significantly extended. Parliament began to pass legislation on a much broader range of issues than it had previously attempted. This wider sphere included medical practice. The increased ‘scientific certainty’ of medical conclusions gave those conclusions greater utility to the State when it engaged in fact-finding exercises and accounts, in part, for the increasing appearance of medical experts, opinion, and evaluation of medical practice in its law making bodies.


ISBN: 978-1-84113-849-7

Courses

The courses we offer in this field are:

Undergraduate

FHS - Final Year (Phase III)

The degree is awarded on the basis of nine final examinations at the end of the three-year course (or four years in the case of Law with Law Studies in Europe) and (for students who began the course in October 2011 or later) an essay in Jurisprudence written over the summer vacation at the end of the second year. Note: the Jurisprudence exam at the end of the third year is correspondingly shorter. This phase of the Final Honour School includes the first and second term of the final year; the Final Examinations are taken in the third term of the final year.

Medical Law and Ethics

This course covers selected legal, ethical and medical issues arising in medical practice and research. It focuses on issues of consent, autonomy and best interests of the patient and other interested parties, and how these create intersections with other areas of law, such as tort, criminal and personal property law.

Four core areas of medical law are covered: intentional torts and clinical negligence; reproductive medicine and rights; organ donation and transplantation; and end of life issues. Lectures cover both the legal and ethical issues arising in those areas of medicine, and assume knowledge of the relevant law already covered in the Law Moderations Criminal Law course, and the FHS Tort Law course. Students will be encouraged to take a critical approach and consider where the law may require reform, drawing on the legal and ethical literature to support their views. The course also includes lectures on reasoning in ethics, which will cover various methodologies in ethics for determining about how to act, to give students a grounding in how conclusions about ethical issues are reached (and critiqued), and on a range of issues in medical ethics not covered elsewhere in the course.

The subject is through five tutorials and a series of 20 lectures. The lectures are intended to be interactive and students should be expect to be called upon to participate in discussion and debate. Lectures will cover the syllabus, and a number of guest lecturers will also speak on topics of interest in medical ethics. These guests will include barristers, medical practitioners, religious leaders and members of the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.

Diploma in Legal Studies

Medical Law and Ethics

This course covers selected legal, ethical and medical issues arising in medical practice and research. It focuses on issues of consent, autonomy and best interests of the patient and other interested parties, and how these create intersections with other areas of law, such as tort, criminal and personal property law.

Four core areas of medical law are covered: intentional torts and clinical negligence; reproductive medicine and rights; organ donation and transplantation; and end of life issues. Lectures cover both the legal and ethical issues arising in those areas of medicine, and assume knowledge of the relevant law already covered in the Law Moderations Criminal Law course, and the FHS Tort Law course. Students will be encouraged to take a critical approach and consider where the law may require reform, drawing on the legal and ethical literature to support their views. The course also includes lectures on reasoning in ethics, which will cover various methodologies in ethics for determining about how to act, to give students a grounding in how conclusions about ethical issues are reached (and critiqued), and on a range of issues in medical ethics not covered elsewhere in the course.

The subject is through five tutorials and a series of 20 lectures. The lectures are intended to be interactive and students should be expect to be called upon to participate in discussion and debate. Lectures will cover the syllabus, and a number of guest lecturers will also speak on topics of interest in medical ethics. These guests will include barristers, medical practitioners, religious leaders and members of the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.

Postgraduate

BCL

Our taught postgraduate programme, designed to serve outstanding law students from common-law backgrounds

Medical Law and Ethics

The Medical Law and Ethics course provides students with the opportunity to develop a critical understanding of the legal and ethical difficulties that arise in the provision of health care. The primary focus will be on UK law, but the issues to be covered have global relevance and we encourage students to contribute insights from other jurisdictions wherever possible. Students must be prepared to read many types of material and to consider how legal, ethical and policy issues interact. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Topics to be covered include consent to treatment, the regulation of medical research, confidentiality in the doctor-patient relationship, abortion, ownership of body parts and organ donation, death and dying, medical negligence, public health, and the rationing of health care resources in the UK National Health Service. As the course progresses, we will also encourage students to be aware of the current issues in medical research and healthcare provision that are being reported in the media.

The course will be taught by Dr Imogen Goold, Dr Jonathan Herring and Dr Jane Kaye with contributions from other members of the faculties of law and medicine in Oxford, and visiting speakers. There will be twelve seminars, eight in Michaelmas Term and four in Hilary Term, and four tutorials, one in Michaelmas and three in Trinity. The seminars will involve extensive class participation and the tutorials will provide an opportunity to practise essay writing and to prepare for the examination.

MJur

Our taught postgraduate programme, designed to serve outstanding law students from civil law backgrounds.

Medical Law and Ethics

The Medical Law and Ethics course provides students with the opportunity to develop a critical understanding of the legal and ethical difficulties that arise in the provision of health care. The primary focus will be on UK law, but the issues to be covered have global relevance and we encourage students to contribute insights from other jurisdictions wherever possible. Students must be prepared to read many types of material and to consider how legal, ethical and policy issues interact. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Topics to be covered include consent to treatment, the regulation of medical research, confidentiality in the doctor-patient relationship, abortion, ownership of body parts and organ donation, death and dying, medical negligence, public health, and the rationing of health care resources in the UK National Health Service. As the course progresses, we will also encourage students to be aware of the current issues in medical research and healthcare provision that are being reported in the media.

The course will be taught by Dr Imogen Goold, Dr Jonathan Herring and Dr Jane Kaye with contributions from other members of the faculties of law and medicine in Oxford, and visiting speakers. There will be twelve seminars, eight in Michaelmas Term and four in Hilary Term, and four tutorials, one in Michaelmas and three in Trinity. The seminars will involve extensive class participation and the tutorials will provide an opportunity to practise essay writing and to prepare for the examination.


People

Medical Law and Ethics teaching is organized by a Subject Group convened by:

Imogen Goold: CUF Lecturer and

Jonathan Herring: Professor of Law

in conjunction with:

Anne Davies: Professor of Law and Public Policy
Charles Foster: Research Associate, the Ethox Centre, Department of Public Health
Laura Hoyano: Hackney Fellow & Tutor in Law and CUF Lecturer
Jane Kaye: Director of the Centre for Law, Health and Emerging Technologies at Oxford: HeLEX

assisted by:

Kate Greasley: DPhil Law student
Jesse Wall: DPhil Law student

Also working in this field, but not involved in its teaching programme:

Linda Briceno: Researcher in Law, HeLEX
Heather Gowans: Researcher in Law (Part-time), HeLEX
Heather Griffin: Researcher in Law, HeLEX
Andelka Phillips: DPhil Law student
Paolo Ronchi: DPhil Law student


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