Jo Bridgeman – författare

The high profile cases of Charlie Gard, Alfie Evans, and Tafida Raqeeb raised the questions as to why the state intrudes into the exercise of parental responsibility concerning the medical treatment of children and why parents may not be permitted to decide what is in the best interests of their child. This book answers these questions. It argues for a reframing of the law concerned with the medical treatment of children to one which better protects the welfare of the individual child, within the context of family relationships recognising the duties which professionals have to care for the child and that the welfare of children is a matter of public interest, protected through the intervention of the state.

This book undertakes a rigorous critical analysis of the case law concerned with the provision of medical treatment to children since the first reported cases over forty years ago. It argues that understanding of the cases only as disputes over the best interests of the child, and judicial resolution thereof, fails to recognise professional duties and public responsibilities for the welfare and protection of children that exist alongside parental responsibilities and which justify public, or state, intervention into family life and parental decision-making. Whilst the principles and approach of the court established in the early cases endure, the nature and balance of these responsibilities to children in their care need to be understood in the changing social, legal, and political context in which they are exercised and enforced by the court.

The book will be a valuable resource for academics, students, and practitioners of Medical Law, Healthcare Law, Family Law, Social Work, Medicine, Nursing, and Bioethics.

The high profile cases of Charlie Gard, Alfie Evans, and Tafida Raqeeb raised the questions as to why the state intrudes into the exercise of parental responsibility concerning the medical treatment of children and why parents may not be permitted to decide what is in the best interests of their child. This book answers these questions. It argues for a reframing of the law concerned with the medical treatment of children to one which better protects the welfare of the individual child, within the context of family relationships recognising the duties which professionals have to care for the child and that the welfare of children is a matter of public interest, protected through the intervention of the state.

This book undertakes a rigorous critical analysis of the case law concerned with the provision of medical treatment to children since the first reported cases over forty years ago. It argues that understanding of the cases only as disputes over the best interests of the child, and judicial resolution thereof, fails to recognise professional duties and public responsibilities for the welfare and protection of children that exist alongside parental responsibilities and which justify public, or state, intervention into family life and parental decision-making. Whilst the principles and approach of the court established in the early cases endure, the nature and balance of these responsibilities to children in their care need to be understood in the changing social, legal, and political context in which they are exercised and enforced by the court.

The book will be a valuable resource for academics, students, and practitioners of Medical Law, Healthcare Law, Family Law, Social Work, Medicine, Nursing, and Bioethics.

Feminist Perspectives on Child Law is a collection of interdisciplinary socio-legal essays which explore the complex relationship between childhood,gender and the law. Drawing on a wide range of feminist and critical theories and empirical research, these original essays challenge the gender neutrality of law; they explore the shifting constructions of childhood by law, legal practice and popular culture; and they provide critical and timely insights into the complex relationship between adults and children.

The essays go beyond the traditional boundaries of child law within the law school curriculum and within legal practice by addressing a wide range of issues, such as health, criminal justice, education, sexuality and domestic violence.

By approaching these issues in innovative ways, the essays question the impact of gender on social and cultural understandings of childhood and on contemporary interpretations of child welfare and give voice to the different choices and experiences of male and female children.

Feminist Perspectives on Child Law is a collection of interdisciplinary socio-legal essays which explore the complex relationship between childhood,gender and the law. Drawing on a wide range of feminist and critical theories and empirical research, these original essays challenge the gender neutrality of law; they explore the shifting constructions of childhood by law, legal practice and popular culture; and they provide critical and timely insights into the complex relationship between adults and children.

The essays go beyond the traditional boundaries of child law within the law school curriculum and within legal practice by addressing a wide range of issues, such as health, criminal justice, education, sexuality and domestic violence.

By approaching these issues in innovative ways, the essays question the impact of gender on social and cultural understandings of childhood and on contemporary interpretations of child welfare and give voice to the different choices and experiences of male and female children.