Ethics Health and social care
The Ethics, Health, and Social Care research cluster field (EHSC) draws on the School of Law’s longstanding tradition of excellence in applied ethics, doctrinal and socio-legal scholarship, and moral philosophy. The members of EHSC have a diverse range of research strengths aimed at the interrogation of health and social care law from ethical, theoretical, empirical and doctrinal perspectives. EHSC researchers are involved with a number of professional organisations, including the Nuffield Foundation, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, The European Network of Research Integrity Offices, The General Medical Council, The European Society on Transplantation, the Committee on Publication Ethics, Research in Practice, the Beth Johnson Foundation, and others.
Cluster members
Jess Antrobus is a qualified social worker. She is currently enrolled as a PhD student at the School of Law (project title: Adult Practice Support Orders in Wales: An evaluation of the impact the power of entry has had in law, policy and practice). Jess is interested in adult safeguarding law in Wales, and also has research interests around abuse, neglect and the interface with criminal law, and the interaction between safeguarding legislation and commissioning of care.
Dr Dunja Begović has research interests in the ethics and regulation of human reproduction, as well as the end of life (especially palliative care). She has (co-)published papers on prenatal testing, maternal-fetal surgery, surrogacy and uterus transplantation, twin pregnancy reduction, the application of digital health interventions in cancer and palliative care, and care transitions for patients with advanced cancer.
Debbie Foss has worked in local government for over twenty-five years. She is employed by a local authority in northwest England and works in adult safeguarding where she is responsible for managing adult safeguarding data, analysis and performance. Debbie is currently working on her PhD which researches Best Interest Assessors' legal understanding across a range of settings and professional backgrounds, with a special focus on the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Professor Yossi Nehushtan has research interests in legal theory, political theory, public law, human rights law, and law and religion. He has published work on conscientious objection, the right to free expression, religion and intolerance, the COVID-19 lockdowns and intergenerational justice, and constitutional instrumentalism, among other topics.
Dr Abi Pearson has primary research interests in disability, equality, human rights, and legal education. She has published work on the accessibility of undergraduate legal education for persons with disabilities, reasonable adjustments, access to public transport for people with disabilities, inclusive teaching and learning environments, and including disability perspectives in law schools.
Dr Laura Pritchard-Jones focuses her research on mental disability law, adult safeguarding, and the legal framework around social care provision for adults, and her expertise lies predominantly in the application of these areas of law for older adults. She has experience in working with a range of external and professional stakeholders to undertake and disseminate research. She has published work on ageism and autonomy in health care, vulnerable adults and adults at risk, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult safeguarding practice, the inherent jurisdiction in adult welfare cases, and the Mental Capacity Act, sexual relationships, and intimacy.
Dr Kevin de Sabbata researches decision-making by, for, and about people in need of care and medical treatment, individuals experiencing dementia, mental disorders or other disabilities, and citizens of disadvantaged areas of the world, or societies facing public health crises. His research adopts a strongly interdisciplinary approach, combining doctrinal and empirical (quantitative and qualitative) research, and mixing law with ethics, philosophy, sociology, psychology, and other relevant areas. He has published work on children's best interests at the end of life, dementia and treatment decisions, vulnerable adults and the law, identifying cases of child abuse, reasonable accommodation for disabled university students, and citizens' perceptions of ethical issues in COVID-19 containment measures.
Louisa Street worked as a youth worker for over 10 years, supporting young people around issues including mental health, sexual health and relationships, and drugs and alcohol. She started her PhD, exploring young people's views on the law and policy around sexting, in September 2023. Louisa has published work on addressing online harms in policy, and online resilience and wellbeing in young people.
Dr Ezgi Taşcıoğlu has research interests ranging across the fields of socio-legal studies, law in everyday life, and social and cognitive justice, and takes an interdisciplinary approach to socio-legal research at the intersections of law, social sciences and the humanities. She has published work on supported decision making, legal capacity, transgender embodiment and the criminalisation and legal governance of trans women in Türkiye, disability rights in Türkiye and its engagement with the CRPD, intellectually disabled people's intimate lives, supported will-making, and social care detention.
Professor Anthony Wrigley specialises in bioethics, research ethics, and applied ethics across a broad range of issues in law, medicine and society. His work has focused primarily on ethical and policy issues on the margins of life, including new and emerging technologies, genetic and reproductive technologies, consent for those who have lost capacity, mental illness, organ donation and xenotransplantation, research on vulnerable and terminally ill subjects, dying in restricted environments, and end-of-life care. He is also interested in theoretical work on underlying concepts in ethics, especially those relating to bioethics, such as harm, moral authority, vulnerability, personhood, identity, autonomy, dishonesty, hope, and trust. His work is regularly covered by the media and he has provided advice to various bodies and organisations on ethical issues, such as The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, Public Health England, the NHS Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation Advisory Group, and the Department of Health and Social Care. He has held a JTF-funded Research Fellowship for the Hope-Optimism Project at Cornell, Notre Dame, and Pennsylvania Universities in the USA.
