Inspiring a Medico-Legal Revolution: Essays in Honour of Sheila McLean

This book marks the retirement of Professor Sheila McLean, whose contribution to the discipline of medical law has been truly ground breaking.

As one of the pioneers of the discipline, Sheila McLean inspired a revolution in the ways in which lawyers, doctors, courts and patients perceive the relationship between medicine and the law. The first International Bar Association Professor of Law and Ethics in Medicine, she has worked tirelessly to champion the importance of law’s role in regulating medicine and protecting patients’ rights. The span in content of this book reflects the range of contributions that Professor McLean has herself made.

Her work gave direction and shape to a new field of study at a time when few questioned the authority of medicine or thought much about the plight of the patient. This collection brings together 21 leading scholars in healthcare law and ethics to honour the depth and significance of her contribution. Including authors from the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the contributions cover areas as diverse as start and end of life, reproductive rights and termination of pregnancy, autonomy of patients, the protection of vulnerable patient groups, and the challenges posed by new technologies.

Contents: Foreword, Lawrence O. Gostin; Preface.

Part I Issues at the Beginning of Life: Reproductive health and the law, Rebecca J. Cook and Bernard M. Dickens; DIY abortion and harm reduction, Emily Jackson; Parenthood and artificial human reproduction: the dangers of inappropriate medicalisation, Kenneth McK. Norrie; ‘Fetal infants’: at the edge of life?, Margot Brazier and John Harris.

Part II Care: Trust or contract: how far does the contemporary doctor-patient relationship protect and promote autonomy?, Graeme T. Laurie and J. Kenyon Mason; Advance directives and surrogate decision-making: when are patients’ prior wishes not determinative?, Loane Skene; Disability and healthcare: some philosophical questions, Robin Downie; Bioethics through the telescope: institutional ethics in the NHS, Christopher Newdick.

Part III Liability: Clinical negligence and poor quality care: is Wales ‘putting things right’?, Vivienne Harpwood; No-fault compensation for medical injury: principles, practice and prospects for reform, Anne-Maree Farrell.

Part IV Regulation: Research participants and the right to be informed, Deryck Beyleveld and Roger Brownsword; Children, cosmetic surgery and perfectionism: a case for legal regulation?, Jean V. McHale; Legal regulation of new technologies: re-thinking xenotechnologies in the twenty-first century, Marie Fox; The human genome revolution: Sheila McLean’s quest for intellectual rigour and reproductive liberty, Mark Henaghan.

Part V Issues at the End of Life: In word, or sigh, or tear: depression and end-of-life choices, Colin Gavaghan; Assisted dying: humanity or autonomy?, Tom Campbell. References; Index.