Bernadette Richards

Biography

I have worked at the University of Adelaide for a number of years and my research focus is in the area of medical law and ethics and my work sits at the nexus of ethics and the law in the context of medical treatment, with a particular emphasis on consent to medical treatment. I am currently exploring issues around Advance Care Planning, access to innovative treatment and legal and ethical considerations with regards to organ donation. My Ph.D challenged the existing legal framework around 'consent' to medical treatment (commonly referred to as informed consent). The thesis is entitled: Informed Choice not Informed Consent: Towards a meaningful consideration of pre-treatment advice). I am currently an Honorary Fellow at the Law School, Cardiff University, Chair of the Southern Adelaide Clinical Human Research Ethics Committee and is a past member of the University of Adelaide Human Research Ethics Committee and the South Australian Council on Reproductive Technology. I am also a member of the NHMRC Embryo Research Licencing Committee. I have worked at the University of Adelaide for a number of years and my research focus is in the area of medical law and ethics and my work sits at the nexus of ethics and the law in the context of medical treatment, with a particular emphasis on consent to medical treatment. I am currently exploring issues around Advance Care Planning, access to innovative treatment and legal and ethical considerations with regards to organ donation. My Ph.D challenged the existing legal framework around 'consent' to medical treatment (commonly referred to as informed consent). The thesis is entitled: Informed Choice not Informed Consent: Towards a meaningful consideration of pre-treatment advice). I am currently an Honorary Fellow at the Law School, Cardiff University, Chair of the Southern Adelaide Clinical Human Research Ethics Committee and is a past member of the University of Adelaide Human Research Ethics Committee and the South Australian Council on Reproductive Technology. I am also a member of the NHMRC Embryo Research Licencing Committee.

Research Interest

Medical Law  (with a particular emphasis on consent), bioethics and Tort Law