Zugl.: Mannheim, University, Diss., 2006.

The purpose of this Thesis is to determine which set of private law rules ought to apply to the use and storage of bodily material. I recommend that the most appropriate legal approach is through a combination of property rights and duties of confidentiality. The suggestion is that where a healthcare institution obtains possession of bodily material, their possession of the material may give rise to property rights in the material. In addition, where an individual retains entitlements in bodily material that is held by a healthcare institution, the entitlements of the individual ought to be protected through the imposition of duties on the healthcare institution that are akin to duties of confidentiality. This recommendation is the product of two main inquires. The first inquiry concerns which entitlements individuals and institutions ought to be able to exercise in separated bodily material. This involves an investigation into which aspects of the relationship between a person and their body can also be found in the relationship between a person and their separated bodily material. It also involves an assessment as to which societal interests can be served through allocating entitlements in bodily material to healthcare institutions, and how to resolve the conflict between individual and societal interests in the use and storage of bodily material. The second main inquiry concerns the way in which different branches of private law are able to protect entitlements in things. I identify that property rights, rights of bodily integrity and privacy are similar insofar as they protect entitlements through the exclusion of others. Property rights are nonetheless distinct as property law concerns rights than can exist independently of the rights-holder. The recommended approach follows from connecting the different entitlements in bodily material that ought to obtain legal protection with different ways an entitlement may be afforded legal protection.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Autonomy and informed consent are two interrelated concepts given much prominence in contemporary biomedical discourse. The word autonomy, from the Greek autos (self) and nomos (rule), originally referred to the self-governance of independent Hellenic states, but was extended to individuals during the time of the Enlightenment, most notably through the work of Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. In healthcare, the autonomy model is grounded in the idea of the dignity of persons and the claim people have on each other to privacy, self-direction, the establishment of their own values and life plans based on information and reasoning, and the freedom to act on the results of their contemplation. Autonomy thus finds expression in the ethical and legal requirement of informed consent. Feminists and multiculturalists have however argued that since autonomy rests on the Enlightenment ideals of rationality, objectivity and independence, unconstrained by emotional and spiritual qualities, it serves to isolate the individual and thus fails to rectify the dehumanisation and depersonalisation of modern scientific medical practice. It only serves to exacerbate the problematic power-differential between doctor and patient. Medicine is a unique profession since it operates in a space where religion, morality, metaphysics, science and culture come together. It is a privileged space because health care providers assume responsibility for the care of their patients outside the usual moral space defined by equality and autonomy. Patients necessarily relinquish some of their autonomy and power to experts and autonomy thus cannot account for the moral calling that epitomizes and defines medicine. Recognition of the dependence of patients need not be viewed negatively as a lack of autonomy or incompetence, but could rather reinforce the understanding of our shared human vulnerability and that we are all ultimately patients. There is however no need to abandon the concept of autonomy altogether. A world without autonomy is unconceivable. When we recognise how the concept functions in the modern world as a social construct, we can harness its positive properties to create a new form of identity. We can utilise the possibility of self-stylization embedded in autonomy to fashion ourselves into responsible moral agents that are responsive not only to ourselves, but also to others, whether in our own species or in that of another. Responsible agency depends on mature deliberators that are mindful of the necessary diversity of the moral life and the complex nature of the moral subject. I thus argue that the development of modern individualism should not be rejected altogether, since we cannot return to some pre-modern sense of community, or transcend it altogether in some postmodern deconstruction of the self. We also do not need to search for a different word to supplant the concept of autonomy in moral life. What we rather need is a different attitude of being in the world; an attitude that strives for holism, not only of the self, but also of the moral community. We can only be whole if we acknowledge and embrace our interdependence as social and moral beings, as Homo moralis. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Outonomie en ingeligte toestemming is twee nou verwante konsepte wat beide prominensie in moderne bioetiese diskoers verwerf het. Die woord outonomie, van die Grieks autos (self) en nomos (reël), het oorspronklik verwys na die selfbestuur van onafhanklike Griekse state, maar is in die tyd van die Verligting uitgebrei om ook na individue te verwys, grotendeels deur die werk van Immanuel Kant en John Stuart Mill. In medisyne is die outonomie model gegrond op die idee van die waardigheid van die persoon en die beroep wat mense op mekaar het tot privaatheid, selfbepaling, die daarstelling van hulle eie waardesisteem en lewensplan, gebasseer op inligting en redenasie, en die vryheid om op die uitkoms van sulke redenasie te reageer. Outonomie word dus vergestalt in die etiese en wetlike bepaling van ingeligte toestemming. Feministe en multikulturele denkers beweer egter dat, siende outonomie gebasseer is op die Verligting ideale van rasionaliteit, objektiwiteit en onafhanklikheid, sonder die nodige begrensing deur emosionele en spirituele kwaliteite, dit die individu noodsaaklik isoleer en dus nie die dehumanisering en depersonalisering van moderne wetenskaplike mediese praktyk teenwerk nie. As sulks, vererger dit dus die problematiese magsverskil tussen die dokter en pasiënt. Die beroep van medisyne is ‘n unieke professie aangesien dit werksaam is in die sfeer waar geloof, moraliteit, metafisika, wetenskap en kultuur bymekaar kom. Dit is ‘n bevoorregde spasie aangesien gesondheidswerkers verantwoordelikheid vir die sorg van hulle pasiënte aanvaar buite die gewone morele spasie wat deur gelykheid en outonomie gedefinieer word. Pasiënte moet noodgedwonge van hulle outonomie en mag aan deskundiges afstaan en outonomie kan dus nie genoegsaam die morele roeping wat medisyne saamvat en definieer, vasvang nie. Bewustheid van die afhanklikheid van pasiënte hoef egter nie in ‘n negatiewe lig, as gebrek aan outonomie of onbevoegtheid, beskou te word nie, maar moet eerder die begrip van ons gedeelde menslike kwesbaarheid en die wete dat ons almal uiteindelik pasiënte is, versterk. Dit is verder nie nodig om die konsep van outonomie heeltemal te verwerp nie. ‘n Wêreld sonder outonomie is ondenkbaar. Wanneer ons bewus word van hoe die konsep in die moderne wêreld as ‘n sosiale konstruk funksioneer, kan ons die positiewe aspekte daarvan inspan om ‘n nuwe identiteit te bewerkstellig. Ons kan die moontlikheid van self-stilering, ingesluit in outonomie, gebruik om onsself in verantwoordelike morele agente te omskep sodat ons nie slegs teenoor onsself verantwoordelik is nie, maar ook teenoor ander, hetsy in ons eie spesie of in ‘n ander. Verantwoordelike agentskap is afhanklik van volwasse denkers wat gedagtig is aan die noodsaaklike diversiteit van die morele lewe en die komplekse aard van die morele subjek. Ek voer dus aan dat die ontwikkeling van moderne individualisme nie volstrek verwerp moet word nie, siende dat ons nie na ‘n tipe premoderne vorm van gemeenskap kan terugkeer, of dit oortref deur ‘n postmoderne dekonstruksie van die self nie. Ons het verder ook nie ‘n nuwe woord nodig om die konsep van outonomie in die morele lewe mee te vervang nie. Ons het eerder ‘n ander instelling van ons menswees in die wêreld nodig; ‘n instelling wat streef na volkomendheid, nie net van onsself nie, maar ook van die morele gemeenskap. Ons kan slegs volkome wees wanneer ons ons interafhanklikheid as sosiale en morele entiteite, as Homo moralis, erken en aangryp.

The purpose of this study was to investigate student preferences for content, timing, and method of informed consent within counselor education programs. Participants included 115 students enrolled in counseling internship courses at six counseling programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Participants completed the Informed Consent Preferences Questionnaire (ICPQ), an instrument designed specifically for this study through systematic instrumentation development. Descriptive statistics highlighted participants' moderate to high ratings of perceived importance for an array of suggested content pieces for student informed consent. Participants varied among themselves and between items in relation to preferred timing of informed consent, and they consistently reported a desire for student informed consent to be facilitated through a combination of both oral and written methods. Results of exploratory factor analysis revealed a simple eight-factor structure within the ICPQ and suggested strong internal reliability. Correlations for participant scale scores for the eight factors revealed a variety of small to medium correlations. Results from t-test and one-way analysis of variances (ANOVA) indicated that participant preferences did not vary according to demographic variables. Finally, participants' qualitative responses revealed high levels of support for student informed consent. Findings of this study may aid counselor educators in evaluating current program informed consent practices. As a result of evaluation, counselor educators can affirm existing, and/or design new informed consent practices that accurately reflect the needs and desires of counseling students. Future researchers may also utilize the results to guide additional studies related to the practice of student informed consent.

Title of thesis: Actual problems of criminal liability in medical treatment in connection with advance directives Abstract The main aim of this thesis is to analyze the topic of advance directives, recent institute in Czech legislation, its problems and mainly criminal liability in medical treatment, which is not summarized complexly in Czech professional literature. This thesis is composed of seven chapters, which are divided into sections and subsections. Chapter One is introductory and is dedicated to moral rights of a patient, which provide the basic starting points of this thesis. The chapter is subdivided into two parts. Part One describes evolution of rights of patients and part Two presents right to life, right to self-determination and finally right to protection of human dignity. Chapter Two analyzes advance directives. This chapter is subdivided into five sections. The basic characteristic is processed with respect to legislation, particular types, issues and critical aspects of advance directives. Chapter Three discusses the legal liability in healthcare. Chapter is divided into four sections; each is devoted to one of the civil, labor, administrative and disciplinary liability. Chapter Three is related to the following chapter, which deals with criminal liability and represents, with respect to...

Health care services is an area, in which is, with regard to specific nature of processed information, needed to pay special attention to personal data protection of patients. Act that used to regulate this kind of relations for more than 40 years was the Act on Care and Health of Nation. Taking into consideration its historic time of origin and paternalistic theory, on which it was based upon, and despite passage of Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine meaning significant deviation from up to now paternalistic theory, this Act was not able stand under the Czech republic international obligations, principles of democratic legal state and last but not least rapid technological progress,. Therefore it was replaced by Medical Services Act, which is in full compliance with approach that sees relation between physician and patient as equal. One of cornerstones in area of personal data protection in health care services is concept of rule of secrecy, to which is obliged mainly provider of health care, but also other persons stated in the Act. Violation of rule of secrecy is punished. Threat of penal sancion for violation of rule of secrecy highlights the importance of protection of presonal data in health care area. Although under circumstances specified by the law is possible to unveil rule of...

The aim of this thesis is to analyse and compare wrongful birth cases in European context. Its first part focuses on the theoretical explanation of the concept of the action itself, then it is followed by a detailed comparison with wrongful life actions. A proper definition is necessary for further understanding of the matter. The second part of the thesis aims at an in-depth description of wrongful birth cases in major European countries. It discusses the medical liability and the parents` rights in the past cases and brings an evaluation and a de lege ferenda point of view. The conclusion deals with the similarities and the differences and offers the author's insight on the subject.

The Human Organ Transplantation Act - moral and ethical problems of its application This thesis deals with issues related to the applications of the Human Organ Transplantation Act. It is focused on the assessment of existing legislation regarding transplantation, the identification of problematical areas of transplantation law and the possibility of their correction. The thesis is divided into several parts. At the beginning it deals with the history and development of transplant medicine. It also contains a description of the current legislation and a brief summary of an international regulation. The main focus of the thesis is to analyze the deficiencies in Czech legislation and to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of the transplant law. Finally, it analyzes the forthcoming amendment to The Human Organ Transplantation Act prepared by the Ministry of Health. The Human Organ Transplantation Act is a modern legislation respecting international commitments of the Czech Republic. Nature of the transplant legislation is given by its fundamental aspects  the principle of presumed consent in connection with legally provided guarantee to respect disagreement expressed in accordance with law, the preference of a deceased donor prior to a living one, the principle of fairness in the allocation of...

Life and health represent the most precious values of each human being. Unlawful encroachment upon these values, which can occur in the health care service, is connected with civil liability. Monetary compensation for immaterial damage has been a neglected legal institute for a long time under Czech law. It is divided into two systems now, a protection of personal rights and reimbursement of the damage. This legal area is not easily understandable to legal professionals, let alone to lay men. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the up to date state of assessment of immaterial damage and to evaluate its pros and cons. It deals with the types of infridgement of personal rights which can occur in the health care service, and subsequently, it describes the systems under which the immaterial damage is reimbursed. Concurrently, I focus on the way of determination of the monetary compensation of the immaterial damage, the amount of monetary compensation actually awarded under Czech law and I evaluate adequacy of such compensation. This thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter One provides theoretical grounds for the rest of the text, a specification of essential terms and definitions which shall be used in the text later. Chapter Two deals with one of the systems of compensation for immaterial...

Rights of the Patients (resume) The thesis Rights of the Patients does not provide a comprehensive survey of all rights the patients have under applicable legislation, thus, for reasons of complexity of the theme, the author focused only on the most important of them. Separate chapters are dedicated to individual rights, in order basically corresponding to importance the author attaches to particular ones. Each chapter comprises general lecture on the respective right, its regulation in international legal documents binding on the Czech Republic and in domestic legal documents. In footnotes, the author provides, for the purposes of comparison, regulation of particular institutes in foreign legislation. In the opening, the author defines the terms "health law" and "medical law" and provides overview of the most important international and domestic health-law regulations, supplemented with enumeration of their principles related to the area of providing medical care. With regard to currently discussed legislative proposals, which mean the long-awaited amendment to domestic medical law and, if approved, will bring many significant changes compared to the present state, the author included a separate section dedicated to these legislative proposals at the end of the first chapter. The second chapter discusses...