What are the conflicting issues of ethics and law in medical profession?
Within their distinctive roles the disciplines of law and ethics overlap and also in some aspects, conflicts are not uncommon. One such area of conflict, is with regard to consent. More specifically, law prescribes that compliance of particular conditions reflect fairness of the process adopted. Accordingly, the law states that if the procedure is followed, it is legal and binding. However, still there may be a possibility of challenge from ethical point of view. This kind of problem has come to fore in two significant contexts, but related ones. They are, hysterectomy of mentally deranged women and proxy consent of parents on behalf of mentally retarded for the purpose of organ donation only to benefit another member of the family. Do we lack a provision for sound clinical judgment? In the eyes of law, a sound clinical judgement is always construed as a matter of defence for the professional concerned. Though the judgement results in suffering of the patient, still according to the av
