Medical Law A Very Short Introduction

• An engaging and accessible account of the main principles of medical law
• Examines a wide range of areas from abortion to the availability of IVF, and the withdrawal of medical treatment
• Uses case studies from international jurisdictions to fully understand the main principles
• Assumes no previous knowledge of the subject
• Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over five million copies sold worldwide

Medical law is concerned with our bodies, and what happens to them during and after our lives. When things go wrong with our bodies, we want to know what our rights are, and what governs the conduct of the clinicians into whose hands we put our lives and limbs. Dealing with matters of life and death, it can therefore have a fundamental impact on medical practice. 

Headlines in the media often involve the core issues of medical law - organ transplantation, abortion, withdrawal of treatment, euthanasia, confidentiality, research on humans - these are topics that affect us all. Headlines can misrepresent, however. In order to fully understand the issues and their relevance, we have to delve into the cases and into the principles behind them. 

In this highly readable Very Short Introduction, Charles Foster explores different examples to illustrate the key problems and principles of medical law.

Readership: An ideal introduction to law students on medical law courses, as well as healthcare professionals and general readers interested in knowing more about the relevance and impact of medical law.