Law and ethics in medicine

Law regulates many areas of medicine, and doctors need to understand the legal and ethical framework within which they work. UK Parliament considers ethical principles when making law on issues such as organ donation and abortion, and in the courts judges frequently consider ethical dilemmas in medicine. There is now a strong ethical perspective permeating medical law. For example, Parliament and the courts have recently departed from assumptions based on paternalism and the view that the medical profession ‘knows best’, recognizing the importance of patients’ autonomy.