77920 Current Issues in Biomedical Law and Bioethics

Requisite(s): 77885c Legal Process and Legal Research OR 60 credit points of completed study in C04148 Master of Law and Legal Practice

These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.

This subject provides an in-depth exploration of the response of the legal system to selected current issues in biomedical developments. In accord with Justice Windeyer's famous observation, law is 'marching with medicine but in the rear and limping a little' (see Mount Isa Mines Ltd v. Pusey (1970) 125 CLR 283, 395).

It is often assumed that law reform will solve many of the dilemmas which society faces in current medical developments such as genetic testing and reproductive technologies. Students in this subject explore this assumption through examining several current and topical biomedical developments. The in-depth analysis of these select areas highlights tensions in biomedical law and bioethics.