In this episode of the AMAL Podcast, we sit down with Professor Jonathan Herring, Professor of Law at the University of Oxford, to explore the intersection of medical law, ethics, and human vulnerability.

Professor Herring challenges the assumption that law in medicine is ever clear-cut – from why signing a form isn’t the same as genuine consent, to why a child who says yes to a procedure can be trusted by law, while the same child saying no can be overridden. He also unpacks how something as subtle as a doctor’s word choice can completely shift a patient’s decision, even when the facts are identical.

At the heart of his perspective is a “care ethics” approach: law should not function as a rigid rulebook, but as a framework rooted in dignity and human vulnerability, especially in sensitive areas like gender-affirming care and end-of-life decisions.
One message runs through it all: law operates in complexity, not certainty.

If you are curious to hear more, please watch the episode below, and do not forget to share it with your friends.