The Law and Ethics of Medicine: Essays on the Inviolability of Human Life

The book shows that the principle, though widely recognized as an historic and foundational principle of the common law, has been misunderstood in the legal academy, at the Bar and on the Bench. Part I of the book identifies the confusion and clarifies the principle, distinguishing it from 'vitalism' on the one hand and a 'qualitative' evaluation of human life on the other. Part II addresses legal aspects of the beginning of life, including the history of the law against abortion and its relevance to the ongoing abortion debate in the US; the law relating to the 'morning after' pill; and the legal status of the human embryo in vitro. Part III addresses legal aspects of the end of life, including the euthanasia debate; the withdrawal of tube-feeding from patients in a 'persistent vegetative state'; and the duty to provide palliative treatment.

This unique collection of essays offers a much-needed clarification of a cardinal legal and ethical principle and should be of interest to lawyers, bioethicists, and healthcare professionals (whether they subscribe to the principle or not) in all common law jurisdictions and beyond.

Having graduated in law from Cambridge he took a doctorate at Oxford and was then called to the Bar of England and Wales. Before being elected to the Rose Kennedy Chair he taught the law and ethics of medicine in the Faculty of Law at Cambridge, where he was a Fellow of Queens' College and of Churchill College. Professor Keown has written widely in the field of the law and ethics of medicine. His research has been cited by distinguished bodies worldwide, including the United States Supreme Court, the Law Lords, the House of Commons, the House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics, and the Australian Senate, one of several bodies before which he has been invited to testify. He has served as a member of the ethics committee of the British Medical Association. In 2011 he testified as an expert witness for the Attorney-General of Canada in a case challenging Canada's prohibition of assisting suicide and voluntary euthanasia.

1 The 'Sanctity of Life,' 'Best Interests', and 'Autonomy': An Overview

2 Surveying the Foundations of Medical Law: A Reassessment of Glanville Williams's The Sanctity of Life and the Criminal Law

3 Sir Ian Kennedy and the Value of Life: Building on Glanville Williams's Shaky Foundations?

4 Restoring the Inviolability of Life and Replacing the Caricature

Part II The Beginning of Life

5 Back to the Future of Abortion Law: Roe's Rejection of America's History and Legal Traditions

6 'Morning After' Pills, 'Miscarriage,' and Muddle

7 The Scope of the Offense of Child Destruction

8 The Human Embryo In Vitro: Person, Chattel or Dolphin?

Part III The End(ing) of Life

9 The Euthanasia Debate in the House of Lords

10 Towards Euthanasia in Europe? Marty, Pretty and Purdy

11 Palliative Care: An Ethical and Legal Duty?

12 Restoring Moral and Intellectual Shape to the Law after Bland

Introduction and Overview

Part I: (Mis)Understanding the Inviolability of Life

1. Surveying the Foundations of Medical Law: A Reassessment of Glanville Williams's The Sanctity of Life and the Criminal Law

2. Building on Williams's Shaky Foundations? The Inviolability of Life and Ian Kennedy

3. Restoring the Inviolability of Life and Replacing the Caricature: A Reply to David Price

Part II: The Beginning of Life

4. Back to the Future of Abortion Law: Roe's Rejection of America's History and Traditions

5. 'Morning After' Pills, 'Miscarriage', and Muddle

6. Person, Chattel, or Dolphin? The Legal Status of the Human Embryo In Vitro

7. The Scope of the Offence of Child Destruction

Part III: The End(ing) of Life

8. Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide: Evaluating the Arguments

9. Euthanasia in Europe: Some Reflections on Marty, Pretty, and Purdy

10. Palliating Pain and Sedating the Suffering

11. Tube-Feeding and PVS: Bland Revisited

12. The 'Inviolability of Life', 'Best Interests', and 'Autonomy': A Summary