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It was my privilege to have an in-depth discussion with Imogen Goold, Professor of Medical Law at the University of Oxford recently, in which we talked at length about the law around the medical treatment of children and best interests. In doing so, we delved into some of the most challenging cases where differences of views between those with parental responsibility and treating clinicians are managed by the courts. Our conversation was recorded and I am pleased to be able to share it with you here. Please do pass it on to anyone you think might find the topics we touched upon of interest.
Professor Goold has written extensively on this subject and, like me, has a profound respect for the compassionate and inclusive way our legislative system negotiates and decides upon these sensitive cases, always putting the child at the forefront of everything.
Balancing medical treatment decisions for children: In conversation with Professor Imogen Goold
In our conversation we discussed how finely balanced medical treatment decisions are made and whether it is right that the court should have the final say where consensus cannot be reached as to what is in a child’s best interests. We covered the charged topic of ‘parental rights’; whether they exist at all or whether they ought to be better characterised as ‘parental duties’.
The importance of a child’s wishes, values and feelings was discussed, in particular around religious observation and how difficult it can be to impose or to understand what a young child’s beliefs might be in the context of life or death decision-making against a backdrop of strongly held religious beliefs of that child’s parents. How the courts manage these challenging, and often highly charged issues dispassionately and fairly, was a compelling conversation.
Finally, we touched upon the issue of health inequalities in the context of medical treatment decision cases, looking at the huge resources and scrutiny that is invested in certain instances into these decisions.
I do hope you find the discussion interesting and thought-provoking. Please share your thoughts on the topics covered.
For more information about Professor Goold’s publications, please see:
- Great Debates in Medical Law and Ethics
- Lawyers' Medicine
- Parental Rights, Best Interests and Significant Harms
- Medical Decision-Making on Behalf of Young Children
- Persons, Parts and Property
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