Law - Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Statutory leave for early pregnancy loss: A comparative study(SAGE Publications Ltd, 2024) Kelly-Harrington, Ruadh; Murray, Claire; Hennessy, Marita; Leitao, Sara; O’Sullivan, Maeve; Dalton-O’Connor, Caroline; Nuzum, Daniel; O’Donoghue, Keelin; Donnelly, MaryPregnancy loss prior to fetal viability is a common experience for women worldwide – 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Increased recognition of the impact of such loss has put the issue of statutory leave in this context on the policy and legislative agenda in an increasing number of jurisdictions. This article seeks to help inform these debates by presenting the findings of a comparative study of jurisdictions which have introduced such leave. From this, the article identifies two main approaches: leave based on the sick leave model and leave based on the compassionate leave model. The article argues that both models have strengths and limitations. What works in each individual jurisdiction will depend, among other factors, on the way in which the jurisdiction in question addresses the issue of leave more broadly. However, regardless of the model adopted, the article argues that some form of statutory leave for miscarriage and other pregnancy loss should be introduced on the basis that such leave serves to reinforce the equality agenda, provides a chance for care and recovery following pregnancy loss, and serves an important expressive and educative goal in ensuring better understanding of the impact of pregnancy loss on those who experience such loss. © The Author(s) 2024.Item Choosing to Provide: Early Medical Abortion and Clinician Conscience in Ireland(Springer, 2024) Donnelly, Mary; Murray, ClaireProviders are essential to the delivery of abortion care. Yet, they often occupy an ambiguous space in political discourse around abortion. The introduction of a new abortion service in Ireland invites us to look afresh at providers. Since the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 came into force, by far the most common form of abortion care has been early medical abortion (EMA). This is typically provided by General Practitioners (GPs), with approximately 10% of GPs having chosen to provide EMA. This article draws on an empirical study of providers to investigate their motivations for, and experiences of, provision and their views on colleagues who have not chosen to provide. The study shows that for many providers, the choice to provide was grounded in a moral commitment to protecting women’s rights to autonomy and health and ensuring that the harms of the past were not repeated. The article argues that notwithstanding increased normalisation of EMA in Ireland, conscience still has a role to play in abortion care provision and it is important to reflect on the various aspects of this role. © The Author(s) 2024.Item Consent to testing for brain death(BMJ Publishing Group, 2023) Lyons, Barry; Donnelly, MaryCanada has recently published a new Clinical Practice Guideline on the diagnosis and management of brain death. It states that consent is not necessary to carry out the interventions required to make the diagnosis. A supporting article not only sets out the arguments for this but also contends that 'UK laws similarly carve out an exception, excusing clinicians from a prima facie duty to get consent'. This is supplemented by the claim that recent court decisions in the UK similarly confirm that consent is not required, referencing two judgements in Battersbee. We disagree with the authors' interpretation of the law on consent in the UK and argue that there is nothing in Battersbee to support the conclusion that consent to testing is not necessary. Where there is a disagreement about testing for brain death in the UK, court authorisation is required. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.Item Comparing mental health and mental capacity law data across borders: Challenges and opportunities(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Davidson, Gavin; Agnew, Elizabeth; Brophy, Lisa; Campbell, Jim; Donnelly, Mary; Farrell, Anne-Maree; Forbes, Trisha; Frowde, Rhiannon; Kelly, Brendan D.; McCartan, Claire; Wellcome Trust ; Queen's University Belfast; Department of Health Northern IrelandThe island of Ireland is partitioned into Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In both jurisdictions, there have been important developments in mental health and mental capacity law, and associated policies and services. This includes an emphasis on developing more comprehensive approaches to collecting data on outcomes and so there is an opportunity to align these processes to enable comparison and shared learning across the border. This article explores: legal and policy developments; international approaches to mental health outcomes; and the type of data that would be helpful to collect to better understand the use of mental health and mental capacity laws. It is argued that an inclusive strategy to developing a comprehensive, integrated and aligned approach to collecting and analysing data would benefit citizens, policy makers and professionals. © 2024 The AuthorsItem COVID-19 Vaccination and Legal Preparedness: Lessons from Ireland(Brill Nijhoff, 2022) Tumelty, Mary-Elizabeth; Donnelly, Mary; Farrell, Anne-Maree; Ó Néill, Clayton; Economic and Social Research Council ; Irish Research CouncilIreland has been a leader in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the EU, with almost 80% of the eligible population (aged over 5 years) fully vaccinated at the time of writing. The success of the vaccine rollout in this jurisdiction notwithstanding, the legal frameworks supporting the rollout had significant lacunas. Two aspects in particular highlighted a lack of legal preparedness: the inadequacy of the legal framework for consent and the absence of a vaccine injury redress scheme. This paper explores these components of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout through the lens of legal preparedness. Whilst most often discussed in the context of command and control measures such as social distancing requirements and regional lockdowns, this paper argues for an expanded understanding of what it means to be legally prepared, highlighting the importance of the preparedness of domestic legal frameworks. © Mary-Elizabeth Tumelty et al., 2022
