Welcome to the October edition of the Worldly Gavel! October, of course, marks one of my favourite months. Not only do I get to celebrate my birthday but due to Halloween I also get to enjoy some spine-chilling horrors (and of course the lack of sleep afterwards). From a medical law perspective, October was a busy month which marked another great victory for the reproductive health freedoms of women! [Read more about it below]. In no particular order of importance here are some of the latest medical law developments. At last, abortion has been decriminalised in Northern Ireland! This marks a ..read more

You might have noticed that The Patient Project went through a hiatus for the last few months. This is due to the fact that I found myself standing in the patient’s shoes, or let’s rather say laying in the patient’s bed. I underwent surgery in April which unfortunately led to a number of complications and a lengthy recovery period. After spending 10 days in two different hospitals I often found myself questioning whether the health care environment is still upholding the values it was initially built on. As someone who teaches medical students on the law and ethics of their profession, I’ve s ..read more

On the 2nd of October, 1987 the world woke up to the news that a South African woman had given birth to her three grandchildren. No, it’s not a typo – you did indeed read that she gave birth to her own ‘grandchildren’. This occurrence marked the first international case of a woman successfully carrying her daughter’s transplanted embryos and also the first recognised case of surrogacy in South Africa. Unfortunately, it did not mark the first traditional surrogacy in the world, as this was claimed 11 years earlier by US lawyer, Noel Keane when he drafted the first legal surrogacy agreement. Bo ..read more

Welcome to the February edition of the Worldly Gavel! Another month has come and gone, and it’s time for another Worldly Gavel update on medical news from around the world. This month, I find myself at the airport waiting to board a flight to London to present my first paper at an International Congress hosted by the BTS (British Transplantation Society) and NHSBT (National Health Services Blood and Transplant). I’ll be presenting on the legal context of the groundbreaking transplantation which was announced last year where a liver was transplanted from a mother living with HIV to her HIV-neg ..read more

February annually marks Reproductive Health Month, and I cannot think of a better way to end off this month than by writing a blog based on one of the greatest reproductive right victories in South Africa, the implementation of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act 92 of 1996 (COTP Act). Finally, the first step had been taken in respecting the self-determination rights of women in the country. Women would no longer be treated as minors regardless of their age or marital status (see my fact here about sterilisation in the past). Nor would they have to bow down to the paternalistic nature ..read more

February month traditionally marks the month of love. Every year, as soon as the Christmas decorations are removed we are bombarded by hearts in every shape and form, tempting chocolates (even though only a few days ago we made resolutions to eat healthier) and constant reminders to get your favourite human a token of appreciation. Due to all of this, you might have missed out on the fact that February is also Reproductive Health Awareness month. Reproductive health plays a vital part in the health system and affects everyone. Apart from being aware of the health aspects of reproduction, it i ..read more

Welcome to the latest feature of the Patient Project! Every month, I will provide a brief update of medical law news from around the world. You might be wondering, why should we be bothered with foreign medical law developments since South Africa has such a unique culture and health system. Well, without going into too much detail, foreign law developments are significant because: when the law is developed in South Africa we may take into consideration foreign law to assist us in finding a solution to a legislative gap (this is a nifty little feature provided by the Constitution); law develo ..read more

Does a child have a right to be vaccinated? Living in an ever-changing society, we often find ourselves devoting time to stay up to date with what is “trending”. We scroll aimlessly through Twitter to read the latest news and world events. We frantically create Pinterest boards reflecting the top 10 fashion trends, quotes to live by and idyllic holiday destinations. And finally, with the odd spare minute or two, we stimulate our square eyes by catching up with the top Netflix series. There’s no doubt, in some way or another we unwillingly (sometimes willingly) jump on the trend bandwagon. But ..read more

If you’re thinking of the iconic 1990s ad campaigns featuring celebrities with milk moustaches to encourage consumption of milk – stop right there. Even though this post is about the importance of milk, it’s not exactly about cow’s milk but rather human milk. In the last few years, striking awareness campaigns have started to promote the benefits and importance of breastfeeding. The slogan ‘breast is best’ has become a trending topic. But what alternative does a new-born’s mother or an abandoned baby have if this life-sustaining resource isn’t available? Well, they can obtain donated milk fro ..read more

, ,‘Should a person who tries to commit suicide receive an organ transplant if needed?’, In 2009, during an informal conversation a friend posed this question to me. Little did I know that this conversation would spark a lifelong interest in organ donation. Without any thought or hesitation, I immediately said of course! Being a care-free University student at that stage, the idea of regulating who should and should not receive a life-saving organ was unfathomable to me. How foolish I was! I’ve pretty much always known that I wanted to be an organ donor- without much thought or convincing nee ..read more