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.
