Religion and Law: Healthcare Law and Religious Doctrines

Vocabulary flashcards covering medical law, religious doctrines, autonomy, conscientious objection, the doctrine of double effect, and assisted dying legislation.

Autonomy

The capacity or right of an individual, group, or system to govern itself, make individual and uncoerced decisions, and act on its own internal values.

Mill's Harm Principle

The philosophical doctrine from John Stuart Mill's 'On Liberty' stating that power can only rightfully be exercised over a civilized individual against their will to prevent harm to others; over their own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.

Personal Autonomy in Healthcare Law

One of the four core principles of biomedical ethics (articulated by Beauchamp and Childress) holding that a competent individual can make decisions about their own body, including refusing treatment without the obligation to preserve their life.

Re A (Conjoined Twins)

A landmark Court of Appeal case involving conjoined twins Jodie and Mary, where doctors sought permission to surgically separate them to save Jodie (94% survival chance) against the Roman Catholic parents' wishes, resulting in distinct legal rationales from the judges.

Self-Defence (Re A)

The legal rationale invoked by Lord Justice Alan Ward in Re A, suggesting that if Jodie could speak, she would protest, 'Stop it, [Mary], you're killing me,' thus viewing Mary's strain on Jodie's shared circulation as akin to an unlawful threat.

Defence of Necessity (Re A)

The legal doctrine relied upon by Lord Justice Brooke in Re A, referencing the historic case R v Dudley and Stephens, to legally justify the surgical separation that would inevitably cause Mary's death.

Paton v BPAS (1978)

The legal case where Sir George Baker (Baker P) held that in English law, a foetus does not possess rights of its own at least until it is born and has a separate existence from the mother.

Attorney-General's Reference (No 3 of 1994)

The House of Lords decision where Lord Mustill classified the foetus as a 'unique organism' rather than an adjunct or body part of the mother, rejecting the application of legal rules formulated for autonomous persons.

Joanna Jepson Case (2001)

A high-profile legal challenge against a late abortion performed at 28 weeks for a cleft lip and palate, which the claimant argued was unlawful killing; a 2005 judicial review confirmed the doctors acted in good faith under the Abortion Act 1967.

Conscientious Objection

The refusal of an individual to perform specific professional duties (such as military conscription or performing an abortion) due to deeply held moral, ethical, or religious convictions.

Militia Ballot Act 1757

The earliest piece of English legislation to address and recognize conscientious objection within the context of military service.

R v Salford HA ex parte Janaway (1989)

A House of Lords decision ruling that a medical secretary's refusal to type an abortion referral letter was not protected under section 4(1) of the Abortion Act 1967 due to a lack of proximity to the termination itself.

Doogan v Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board (2013)

A Scottish case in which Lady Dorrian held that the right of conscientious objection under section 4(1) of the Abortion Act 1967 extends to supervisory midwife roles and covers the whole process of treatment given for termination.

Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE)

A moral and legal doctrine originating with Augustine and refined by Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica, establishing that an act with two effects—one intended and good, the other foreseen and bad—is permissible provided the bad effect is not intended and remains proportionate.

R v Bodkin Adams (1957)

The criminal trial of Dr. John Bodkin Adams where presiding judge Patrick Devlin established that a doctor is legally entitled to provide all necessary treatment to relieve pain, even if it incidentally shortens the patient's life.

R v Cox (1992)

The criminal case where Dr. Nigel Cox was convicted of attempted murder for administering lethal potassium chloride to Lillian Boyes, establishing that substances with no therapeutic value other than causing death cannot rely on the Doctrine of Double Effect.

Sanctity of Life

The religious belief that human life is sacred, made in God's image, and holds intrinsic value independent of quality, meaning only God has the authority to give or take life.

Declaration on Euthanasia (1980)

An official Vatican declaration by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stating that patients may conscientiously refuse burdensome or precarious treatments when death is imminent, while strictly prohibiting active intentional killing.

Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights

The convention right protecting everyone's right to life by law, permitting exceptions only under strict necessity such as self-defence from unlawful violence, effecting lawful arrest, or quelling a riot.

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

The convention right protecting the right to respect for private and family life, home, and correspondence, which serves as the legal foundation for personal and bodily autonomy.

Section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961

The statutory provision making it a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment to encourage or assist the suicide of another person, requiring the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute.

Assisted Dying Bill (2015)

A Private Member's Bill introduced by Labour MP Rob Marris in the House of Commons that sought to legalize assisted dying but was defeated at second reading by a vote of 330 to 118.

Diane Pretty Case (2001)

A legal challenge where a terminally ill woman unsuccessfully argued before domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights that Articles 2 and 8 conferred a right to assisted suicide without her husband facing prosecution.

Debbie Purdy Case (2008)

A legal challenge that resulted in a court order requiring the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to publish explicit prosecution policy guidelines for family members assisting loved ones traveling abroad to Switzerland for assisted suicide.

Tony Nicklinson Case (2012–2014)

A legal action brought by a man with locked-in syndrome requesting assisted suicide; the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in 2014 but warned that continued parliamentary inaction could prompt a future declaration of incompatibility.

Noel Conway Case (2017)

A challenge to the Suicide Act 1961 dismissed by the Supreme Court, after which the terminally ill claimant exercised his legal right to refuse life-sustaining treatment by removing his ventilator in 2021.

Tokyo Declaration of August, 1976

A declaration by the World Federation of Right to Die Societies supporting assisted dying, advocating for legally binding 'Living Wills' and the statutory legalization of euthanasia.

Catholic vs. Protestant Doctrinal Authority

The theological difference in doctrinal mediation where the Catholic tradition transmits authority from the Apostles into Tradition, Scripture, and the Church, whereas Protestant tradition routes apostolic authority exclusively to Scripture.