Module Identifier LA36720  
Module Title MEDICINE, ETHICS AND LAW  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Professor John Williams  
Semester Semester 1  
Other staff Professor John Williams  
Pre-Requisite LA10110 or LA30110 or LA15710  
Co-Requisite LA36030  
Course delivery Lecture   40 Hours Two one hour and one two hour lecture per week  
  Seminar   8 Hours Four two hour seminars during the semester  
Assessment Essay   Assessed Essay of 2000 words (required in week 5)   33%  
  Exam   2 Hours   66%  
  Resit assessment   Resit: By retaking the failed element (ie written assignment or examination or both, as applicable)    
Professional Exemptions Not Required for Professional Purposes  

Module description


This module considers the relationship between law and ethics dealing in detail with such issues as confidentiality medical negligence, consent to medical treatment, resource allocation, euthanasia. assisted conception, abortion; and mental health. Medical ethics have always been a subject of major concern to practitioners and these issues arise throughout medical practice. The most divisive and complex issues concerning medical ethics turn around questions of life and death which will be considered in depth through abortion- euthanasia and assisted conception. Issues of life and death are pervasive and increasingly become discussed not merely as philosophical medical and legal problems, but also as a resource issue. Medical care is a costly enterprise and choices must be made concerning priorities. On what basis should such decisions be made ? These and other general ethical issues will form the basis of the course. They will then be developed in relation to particular issues. Those chosen are indicative of the most sensitive issues.' they do not form an exhaustive list. The intention of the course is to introduce these dilemmas -and consider and evaluate their legal, ethical and practical implications.


Patients are today living longer, often due to advancements in medical science, yet this increased life expectancy may not always be considered a blessing. Should a patient be allowed to choose to die ? In what circumstances will the law protect the respective rights of a pregnant woman and her foetus ? A number of recent cases have highlighted the extent to which the medical profession is confronted with such issues.


Medicine is an imprecise science and calls for a clinical judgement. To what extent should society penalise doctors for their mistakes? An over-punitive legal regime can lead doctors to exercise too much caution and lead to defensive medicine. However, too lax a regime creates the impression that doctors are a law unto themselves.


Patients who are mentally incompetent will need particular care. They can neither agree to, nor refuse treatment. The court's power to intervene is ambiguous in the case of an adult and the next-of-kin can do no more than express an opinion. Case law declares that the doctor would not be acting unlawfully if he acts in his patients "best interests". Who should decide what is in their best interests?


It is estimated that one in six couples is infertile. There are many forms of treatment for infertility, each one posing very difficult ethical questions. Do people have a right to a child? Who should be eligible for treatment? To what extent should we be able to determine the sex of a child or his or her genetic composition?


The module will give recognition to the split between self regulation by the medical profession and the potential need for external regulation whether by law or other means. The difficulties raised in attempting to reconcile the ethical dilemmas of medical practice with the prescriptive approach of the law will be highlighted.

Aims of the module


This module aims to provide students with a sound foundation in the legal principles and philosophical questions underlying medico-legal decision making in the courts and related forums.

Module objectives / Learning outcomes


Students are expected to develop an appreciation of the issues both in terms of their relevance to abstract philosophical concerns, scientific developments and social policy and to practical legal principles and practice.


Intellectual Skills


1. Analytical skills
2. Problem solving
3. Constructing argument
4. Synthesis (ethics, law and medicine)
5. Assessing and interpreting evidence and source material (interdisciplinary)
6. Organisation of ideas
7. Critical evaluation of complex and conflicting argument and evidence
8. Understanding relevance and irrelevance (especially with regard to making students aware that their gut reaction to issues is largely irrelevant).


As far as the subject/generic skills are concerned, we include them other than numerical.

Syllabus


Introduction to Ethics


Medical Negligence


Medical Records and Confidentiality


Provision of Healthcare in the NHS


Consent


Abortion and neonates


Euthanasia


Assisted Conception


Cloning


Mental Health

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
Mason & McCall Smith, Mennedy & Grubb. Medical Law.
Sheldon & Thomson. Feminist Perspectives on Healthcare Law.
Stauch, Wheat & Tingle. Sourcebook on Medical Law.
Gillon. Philosophical Medical Ethics.
Montgomery. Health Care Law.