Book Review: Ethics, Legal Medicine and Forensic Pathology
| DOI | 10.1177/000486589302600113 |
| Date | 01 March 1993 |
| Published date | 01 March 1993 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
BOOK REVIEWS 95
Ethics, Legal Medicine
and
Forensic Pathology, 2nd ed, V D Plueckhahn and S M
Cordner, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne (1991).
This superbly researched and presented text represents an important contribution
to the national and international practice
of
forensic medicine. Now in Its second
edition, the authors draw heavily on their extensive academic and practical
experience;
Dr
Plueckhahn having based the original edition on some fifteen years
of
teaching forensic medicine. The scope
of
Ethics,
Legal
Medicine
and
Forensic
Pathology
is extensive
and
its various themes
are
examined separately below.
The
opening
chapter
of
this work surveys some of the fundamental ethical
principles and standards which guide
the
practice of medicine and the
medical-related professions. Beginning with aconsideration of the various national
and
international Declarations, statements
and
pronouncements on the rights and
duties of medical practitioners, Plueckhahn and Cordner examine issues
surrounding the rights of patients, medical secrecy and computers, the right to live
and the right to die, violations of human rights
and
human rights in the context of
medical research.
Having outlined some of the many theoretical rights and duties of the medical
practitioner,
Chapter
Two focuses on a wide range of major biomedical advances
which have created complex tensions between medicine, law
and
philosophy. The
controversial techniques of artificial insemination; in-vitro fertilisation and embryo
transfer; cryopreservation
of
human semen and embryos; and surrogate motherhood
and genetic engineering are examined in the context of the various state and federal
laws.
Chapters Three,
Four
and Five provide an overview of the law and legal system
relevant to the needs
of
the medical practitioner. Leading with an examination of
the sources of law
and
the distinctions between civiland criminal laws, a number of
substantive offences including murder, manslaughter and infanticide are outlined
and briefly discussed.
Under
the heading
of
Court Procedures and Evidence,
Chapter Five explores the inquisitorial and adversary modes of trial, procedural
issues surrounding court hearings and the role
and
scope of expert medical and
scientific evidence arising
out
of the trial of medico-legal issues. These chapters are
clearly written and provide an easily accessible overview.
As abranch of
the
medical profession, forensic specialists are subjected to a wide
range
of
legal
and
quasi-legal forms of regulation. Chapters Six and Seven have been
specifically devoted to professional issues concerning the registration and
deregistration of practitioners as outlined in various state and national guidelines.
Malpractice litigation, vicarious liability,duty and standard of care and consent are
treated with special reference to medical practice. Medical records, privacy, and the
impact of AIDS on medical procedures are also considered.
Chapters Eight to
Ten
are devoted to legal aspects of the certification of death;
tissue transplantation, commerce in human tissues and the coronial system in
Australia. Avariety
of
legislation including the Coroners Act 1985 (Vic), the Human
Tissue Act (in each state), the Transplantation and Anatomy Act 1979 (Old), and
the Australian Code of Practise for Transplantation of Cadaveric Organs and
Tissues (1990) is reviewed.
The remaining chapters (11-25) are devoted to a wide range
of
forensic issues
including discussions of non-fatal sexual assault, "unnatural" offences,
transsexualism and abortion. Detailed consideration is given to "traditional" issues
in forensic pathology including anatomical dissection and post-mortem examination.
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