Medicine, Law and Social Change : How Bioethics, Feminism and Rights Movements are Affecting Decision-making

Drawing primarily on Australian material but with reference to US and to a lesser extent UK materials, this book provides an overview of the interaction between social and institutional forces shaping medical autonomy.

The various forces which will be examined include the consumer and women's movements, Bioethics, the common law and government.

Although each of these forces has developed independently, nevertheless there is a common interest in underlying concepts of patients' rights and autonomy.

The effects of each of these forces is examined in the context of the clinical relationship with particular reference to information disclosure and the rights of patients to refuse and demand treatment.

The book will be also concerned with the effect of these forces in professional self-regulation.