A critical commentary on derek morgan's unpublished manuscript: 'Coming back to life: The normal chaos of medical law' and how to deal with property in human cells

This article is an analysis of Derek Morgan's manuscript-'Coming Back to Life: The Normal Chaos of Medical Law', which remained unpublished at his death in 2011. Morgan made two claims in the manuscript: (1) medical practitioners and patients approach health from the different perspec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical law review 2014-12, Vol.22 (4), p.606-619
Main Author: Capps, Benjamin J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cells
Human Rights
Humans
Legislation, Medical
Medical care
Medical laws and legislation
Ownership - legislation & jurisprudence
Social justice
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Summary:This article is an analysis of Derek Morgan's manuscript-'Coming Back to Life: The Normal Chaos of Medical Law', which remained unpublished at his death in 2011. Morgan made two claims in the manuscript: (1) medical practitioners and patients approach health from the different perspectives of 'reason' and 'emotion' respectively, while medical law treads the line between these ultimately resulting in 'normal chaos'. (2) In this respect, medical law ought to be coaxed 'back to life' so that it can address broader principles and values in respect to practical resolution; however, it has, in the face of this chaos, become dull in its ambitions. In this article, I first analyse these two claims in detail, before, second, illustrating the 'normal chaos' of medical law using the debate over ownership of human cells and tissues. I draw my own conclusions as to whether Morgan's final thesis was successful.
ISSN:0967-0742
1464-3790
DOI:10.1093/medlaw/fwt048