The Influence of Faith and Belief on the Formulation, Content and Operation of Health Law in the United Kingdom

The Department of Health's 2009 document Religion or belief: A practical guide for the NHS, stated '[r]eligious and cultural views on the beginning of life can influence attitudes towards reproductive medicine, abortion, contraception and neonatal care. Views on dying, death and the afterlife can influence attitudes towards pain relief for terminally ill people, means of determining the moment of death, brain death, organ donations and care for the corpse'. Thus, perceptions borne of faith or belief are a pervasive and essential aspect of health care and health care law. Indeed, the very political and legal acceptance of novel biotechnologies in themselves may be profoundly influenced by faith and belief perceptions, including in relation to stem cell research/therapy, creation of animal/human hybrids, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, sex selection, genetic enhancement, etc. The operation of laws will in turn be affected by individuals' and communities' views of how their faith and beliefs determine their engagement with health care, including those of health practitioners. Some of these have enormous public health ramifications, such as organ donation and vaccinations. There is, for instance, an established correlation between levels of willingness to agree to donate organs for transplantation and features of faith or belief; although the extent to which cultural or social factors are the primary motivating influences is itself something which we wish to investigate in this and other contexts. The Organ Donation Taskforce and House of Lords Select Committee Reports have both recently emphasised the vital nature of further research in this area.
The extent to which the views of individuals influenced by faith and belief may be catered for by laws and legal processes is a crucial feature of policy formulation, whether in relation to their own or another's (perhaps their own child's) treatment. These aspects are most obviously seen in relation to issues of circumcision, immunisation, contraception, abortion, refusals of medical treatment e.g. blood transfusions, etc. Freedom of religion/belief and equality are interests which nation states must balance against others in formulating policy. The issue of conflicts of duties and belief-based exemptions for health practitioners is also highly charged, raising questions as to the legitimacy and limits of such legal exemptions (including whether some beliefs impact more fundamentally upon individuals' values than others i.e. non-faith based beliefs). The latter issue has become topical on both the domestic (see e.g. GMC, Personal beliefs and medical practice, 2008) and international stages (see e.g. Religion and Healthcare in the European Union: Policy Issues and trends, NEF Initiative, 2009). These interests may be impacted upon by the interpretation of statements of rights with respect to equality and non-discrimination, health or freedom of religion, e.g. the European Convention on Human Rights (and in particular Article 9), and by European Law (although currently limited there are proposals to introduce a directive prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of, inter alia, religion of belief in the context of healthcare). Moreover, general equality laws are becoming more pervasive in this sphere. Finally, although the widening participation agenda and the democratic process necessitate that the views of faith and belief groups feed into policy forums and formulation, the extent of such involvement and which communities should be accommodated are unresolved issues.

This is a unique and multidisciplinary proposal which will begin to evaluate the interaction of healthcare law and faith and policy perspectives and influences. The breadth of participants will ensure that new insights and areas for future study are generated and new collaborations established across disciplinary and institutional divides. The Midlands presents a particularly diverse religious and cultural area within the country and thus provides a particularly important site to locate this type of research. The aim is to particularly engage with the faith communities and health care professional community within the Midlands. The tightly drawn objectives coupled with the open-ended seminar format and methodology will encourage new thinking about an under-researched topic with broader health implications.
The inclusiveness of our multi-faith, multi-ethnic society is essential to the smooth running and success of the UK's healthcare system in general and to its impact on specific communities in particular. The introduction of healthcare policies and procedures are partially a function of community acceptance and toleration. The role of faith and belief in an increasingly secular society is a major challenge to policy makers and formulators. This has social and economic, as well as political, dimensions of a profound character. The effectiveness of these public services, and the participation in healthcare of all in our society with consequent improvements in quality of life, are linked to the extent to which a plurality of standpoints may be accommodated by policy and implemented by practitioners on the ground. Whilst there are limits to which such perspectives may limit the freedoms of others, these views are crucial to involvement and partnership in healthcare decision-making with healthcare professionals. Engagement with, and access to, health services and healthcare practitioners generally is an issue for some communities, and therefore the health of the nation as a whole is to a degree bound up with these issues. It has been observed for instance that ethnic minority groups may become alienated from organizations that do not treat them appropriately and sensitively (Vulnerable Groups and Access to Health Care, 2005).
Selected papers presented at the seminars will be chosen for inclusion in an edited interdisciplinary book for which publishers' support will be sought. In addition, there will be additional major articles produced and targeted principally at high quality, internationally-rated journals with notable impact factors. These will include journals in the legal, theological, medical, biomedical ethics and social science domains. In addition, a website will be created. This will provide a resource for participants in the project through e.g. discussion forums. It will also have external facing pages which would provide public access to the research and its findings as appropriate.