Human Rights and Healthcare

Dr Elizabeth Wicks is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law at the University of Birmingham and a member of the Management Group of the University's Institute of Medical Law. She is the author of The Evolution of a Constitution: Eight Key Moments in British Constitutional Law (Hart, 2006) and has written on various aspects of medical law, public law and human rights.

...broad-ranging and carefully written...those familiar with healthcare and bioethics issues within the United States or elsewhere will find it an extremely useful comparative resource. Barbara A. Noah Law and Politics Book Review Vol. 18 No.5 (May 2008) ...the book makes a good - and in many ways an excellent - course companion.What is attractive about it is Wicks' clear and accessible writing style, her careful structuring of arguments and her interesting - but never overwhelming - selections of further reading. It gives students a sound basis from which to explore the subject further and reach out beyond the legal debates to more traditional ethical writings. For these reasons, Human Rights and Healthcare deserves to acquire a firm place in medical law teaching. Antje du Bois-Pedain Human Rights Law Review Vol 9, No 1, 2009 The style of the discussion is excellent and a pleasure to read; well-written, fluent and easily digestible. Complex matters are summarized succinctly, along with extracts from the leading commentaries and judgments, together with references to a broad range of materials. Wicks' willingness to question illuminates the ethical and practical difficulties the subject provokes. Christopher Newdick European Public Law 14:3 ...especially valuable to those students, teachers and practitioners who seek to comprehend a number of the central topics in English medical jurisprudence through the prism of human rights principles...it not only provides a fresh perspective on topics which sit at the centre of the medical law syllabus, but also offers an accessible entry point for those operating within other sub-disciplines-notably public law-who wish to develop a better understanding of fundamental medico-legal questions and the ethical debates which underpin them...The great strength of this text undoubtedly lies in its careful and comprehensive discussion of the often complex case law, with comparative illustrations offered where appropriate and revealing...Dr Wicks has produced a thoughtful, closely argued and highly readable exploration of an interface between two domains of law which seems certain to remain of profound significance both in the courtroom and the classroom in future years. Keith Syrett Public Law 2009

• 1 Introduction: Human Rights in Healthcare2 A Right to Treatment? The Allocation of Resources in the National Health Service3 Ensuring Quality Healthcare: An Issue of Rights or Duties?4 Autonomy and Consent to Medical Treatment5 Treating Incompetent Patients: Beneficence, Welfare and Rights6 Medical Confidentiality And The Right To Privacy7 Property Rights in the Body8 Medically Assisted Conception and a Right to Reproduce?9 Termination of Pregnancy: A Conflict of Rights10 Pregnancy and Freedom of Choice11 The Right to Life at the End of Life12 The Law and Ethics of Assisted Dying: Is There a Right to Die?