Medical law touches on many of society's most hotly debated issues, from
the status of the embryo to the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment,
and from assisted suicide to research on humans, organ transplantation,
and the ownership of body parts. The media shines a glaring light on
these and many other contentious medical questions, but as legal
authority Charles Foster points out, camera flashes don't shed real
light. To truly grasp these issues, Foster argues, you have to dive deep
into the particular cases, and further, to the principles behind the
cases. In this highly readable and entertaining book, Foster illuminates
those principles, illustrating them with examples from many fascinating
and notorious cases. He sheds light on such controversial and
significant topics as clinical negligence, patient confidentiality,
euthanasia, informed consent, abortion, in vitro fertilization, and much
more. Whatever your interest in medical law--as a healthcare
professional,
policy-maker, law student, or just the concerned owner of a body--this
Very Short Introduction it is essential reading.
About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original
introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology,
Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the
Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series
provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and
complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or
field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the
subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how
it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every
major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and
abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems
important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general
reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable
guide that will likely prove indispensable.
