Health Law: The Need for a New Legal Course
| Author | Molly Joyce Sch |
| Position | Senior Sophister LLB Candidate, Trinity College Dublin |
| Pages | 13-34 |
HEALTH
LAW:
THE
NEED
FOR
A
NEW
LEGAL
COURSE
MOLLY
JOYCE
SCH
Introduction
"Health
law"
is
not
a
term
with
which most young
Irish
law
students
are
familiar
and
courses
examining
the
broad
interaction
between
health
and
law
are
not
commonly
offered
to
undergraduate
law
students.
The
interaction
is,
however,
substantial
and
significant;
this
article
proposes
therefore
that
a
course
in
"Health
Law"
be
devised
in
Irish
law
schools
as
a
modular option
for
study
by
undergraduate
students
in
their
latter
years
of
education.
This
course
would
examine
the
numerous
legal
questions
that
arise
in
healthcare, covering not
only the
strict
legal
principles traditionally
taught
in
medical
law,
such
as
medical malpractice, end-of-life
decision
making
etc,
but
would
also
teach
students
the
core
operations
of
the Irish
healthcare
system
and
the role
of
public
policy
in
it.
Additionally,
this
course
might
introduce students
to
legal
fields
affecting
health
such
as
public
health
law
and
food
law.
In
some
respects,
it
would
emulate
broadened
notions
of
medical
law
that
have
developed
in
the
US
and
Europe.
This
proposed
course
of
study
is
entitled
"Health
Law"
for
the
purposes
of
this
article,
distinguishing
it
from the
narrower
"Medical Law"
courses
already
taught
in
Ireland.
Part
I
puts
forward this
proposal,
with
Part
I
(i)
describing
both the
legal
and
non-legal
healthcare-related
courses
currently
offered
in
Ireland
and
Part
I
(ii)
presenting
a
detailed
description
of
a
potential
"Health
Law"
course.
This
latter section will
outline
the
possible
substantive content
of
such
a
course,
describing briefly
the
organisation
of
the
Irish
healthcare
system
along
with
the
various,
more
traditionally
legal,
questions
arising
in
respect
of
health
in
Ireland.
In
so
doing,
the
complicated
nature
of
Ireland's
healthcare
structure
and
the
various
unresolved
legal
problems
arising
in
Irish
health
will
be
illuminated.
Given
that
Irish
law
students
do
not
normally
have
an
opportunity
to learn
about healthcare
organisation
and
its
*
Senior
Sophister
LLB
Candidate,
Trinity
College
Dublin.
The
author would
like
to
thank
Dr
Neville
Cox
and
Professor
Timothy
Jost for
their
observations
and
advice on
this paper's
proposal.
The
author
would
like
to
particularly thank Professor
William Binchy,
Ms
Joanelle
O'Cleirigh,
Mr
Alex
Schuster,
Mr
Asim
Sheikh
and
Dr David
Smith for
their
generous
comments
and
recommendations
regarding
earlier outlines
of
the
paper.
C
2011
Molly
Joyce and
Dublin
University
Law
Society
Trinity
College
Law
Review
relation
to law
and
given
that
they
will often
advance to enter
prominent
positions
in
Irish public
life,
in
politics,
the
civil service,
non-governmental
organisations, diplomacy,
journalism,
academia
and
in
their
capacity
as
practising
lawyers,
it
is
submitted
that
it
could
be
beneficial
to
train
such
students
early
on
in
the
area
of
healthcare
policy
and
organisation.
1
Furthermore,
it
is
hoped
that
an
undergraduate
course
in
"Health
Law"
would
create
a
broader
discourse on
medico-legal
issues,
highlight
unsettled
legal
problems
arising
in
healthcare
and
create
a
broader
discussion
among
law
students
that,
as
those
students
go
on
to occupy
important
positions
in
the future,
could
eventually benefit
Ireland's
overall
healthcare
system.
Having
made
this
proposal
and
outlined
the
possible substantive
content
of
such
a
course,
the article
will
draw
on
US
and
European
experiences
to
show
that
there
has
been
an
international
trend
to
expand
traditional
notions
of
"medical
law"
so
as
to
encompass
a
broader
range
of
health-related
issues.
To
this
end,
Part
II
will discuss
the
growth
and scope
of
health
law in
the
US
and
Europe
as
well
as
the
various
ways
in
which
the field
is
conceived
and
defined
in
these
jurisdictions.
In
addition, the
criticisms
and defences
of
the
field
as
its
own
distinct
area
of
law
will
be
considered.
By
illustrating
the
complicated
nature
of
the
Irish
healthcare system,
the
unresolved
legal
issues
arising
in
Irish
healthcare
and
the
growth
of
health
law in
other
western
countries this
article
will
conclude
that
a
"Health
Law"
course
should
be
developed
in
Irish
undergraduate
institutions
for
law
students.
In further support
of
this
conclusion
it
will
be
argued
that,
by
entering
the
range
of
positions
in
public
life
described
above,
law
students
often
go
on
to
drive change
in
Irish
society.
It
is
thus
hoped
that
by
offering
a
course
of
"Health
Law"
to
such
students
at an
early
stage in
their
career,
in
the
process
also
increasing discourse
on and
understanding
of
the
interaction
between
healthcare
and
law,
a
lasting
improvement
can
be
made
to
Irish
healthcare.
I.
The
Proposal
i.
Existing
Medical
Law
and
Healthcare
Study
in
Ireland
These
are
just
some
of
the careers
mentioned
as
potential
paths
for
law students
studying
in
TCD
and
UCD,
see
(visited
30
January
2011)
and
teopportunities/> (visited
21
December
2010).
[Vol. 14
14
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