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Health Law, Ethics and Society (LAWS20013)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
To learn more, visit 2023 Course and subject delivery.
About this subject
- Overview
- Eligibility and requirements
- Assessment
- Dates and times
- Further information
- Timetable(opens in new window)
Contact information
Semester 2
Co-Coordinators
A/Prof Michelle Taylor-Sands
Dr Piers Gooding
Students to contact Dr Gooding, as Student Liaison, in the first instance.
Overview
Availability | Semester 2 |
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Fees | Look up fees |
This subject is designed to provide students with a broad understanding of some of the current legal and ethical issues arising in promoting and protecting human health in contemporary society. It will engage students to think about human health, illness and disability through the traditional legal framework of legislation and case law and to introduce them to some of the different ethical approaches commonly applied in this area, including utilitarianism, human rights, ethics of care, principle-based ethics and Kantian ethics.
The subject will use case studies to explore specific health issues and evaluate how well ethical theories address competing values and perspectives in relation to health. In class, we may consider different works of fiction and non- fiction, newspaper articles, film and works of art that depict the topic of the week in the context of health in society.
We will consider current health dilemmas that arise from pre-birth to end of life decisions, which will include a selection of the following issues:
- Issues at beginning of life, including ethical and legal questions about the status of the embryo, the welfare of the child to be born and the role of the state in regulating reproductive choice about abortion, selective reproduction, surrogacy and donor conception.
- The limits of consent, including body modification surgery, gender reassignment treatment, male and female circumcision, refusal of treatment by parents, decision-making by minors and complex situations where the individual has diminished capacity or mental health issues.
- Emerging health technologies.
- Public health concerns including organ donation, communicable diseases (for example, COVID-19), non-communicable diseases (such as those related to lifestyle factors like tobacco use), and drugs and medicines;
- Decision making at the end of life, including advance care decisions, withholding and withdrawing life sustaining treatment and assisted dying.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed the subject should have:
- Acquired a general knowledge of some of the major human health issues in contemporary society
- Obtained an overview of legal, regulatory and ethical issues arising in human health
- Explored legal and ethical issues in human health through a variety of contemporary media sources including, fiction and non-fiction, film and works of art
- Applied the relevant law and selected ethical theories to a range of topical factual scenarios in human health
Generic skills
On completion of this subject, students should have:
- Developed oral skills through contributing to tutorial discussion groups;
- Developed analytical style writing skills through preparation for tutorials and the assignments; and
- Developed an attitude to learning which views pre-reading, reflection and class discussion as essential to learning.
In addition, on completion of the subject, students should have developed the following skills more specific to the discipline of law:
- Developed strategies for responding to legal and ethical issues in contemporary health topics.
Last updated: 22 March 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 22 March 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Assignment 1: Question and answer assignment about ethical theories
| Week 4 | 25% |
Assignment 2: Question and answer assignment about health law
| Mid semester | 25% |
Report: analysis of legal and ethical aspects of a contemporary health issue
| End of the assessment period | 50% |
Last updated: 22 March 2024
Dates & times
- Semester 2
Coordinators Piers Gooding and Michelle Taylor-Sands Mode of delivery On Campus (Parkville) Contact hours • 1.5 hour prerecorded lecture (released via LMS) • 1.5 hour in-person tutorial • 30min in-person consultation Total time commitment 150 hours Teaching period 24 July 2023 to 22 October 2023 Last self-enrol date 4 August 2023 Census date 31 August 2023 Last date to withdraw without fail 22 September 2023 Assessment period ends 17 November 2023 Semester 2 contact information
Co-Coordinators
A/Prof Michelle Taylor-Sands
Dr Piers GoodingStudents to contact Dr Gooding, as Student Liaison, in the first instance.
What do these dates mean
Visit this webpage to find out about these key dates, including how they impact on:
- Your tuition fees, academic transcript and statements.
- And for Commonwealth Supported students, your:
- Student Learning Entitlement. This applies to all students enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
Subjects withdrawn after the census date (including up to the ‘last day to withdraw without fail’) count toward the Student Learning Entitlement.
Last updated: 22 March 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
- Specialist materials may be made available via the LMS.
- Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Bachelor of Biomedicine
- Bachelor of Commerce
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art)
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Science
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 22 March 2024