On Monday 7th November 2022, the Centre for Health, Law and Society will welcome Professor Michael Thomson, Professor of Health Law at the University of Leeds and University of Technology Sydney to present a talk entitled 'A reparatory account of health inequalities'. This would be online only event. Please register here if you join online. 

Abstract

The question of reparations has a long and contentious history. While significant compensatory payments were made to slave owners as part of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, reparation claims made by those affected by slavery and other colonial abuses have continued to fail at state level. In response, this article brings together reparatory justice and health justice. Health inequalities experienced by Black and minority ethnic communities in the UK have their origins - in part - in colonial practices and the inequalities these historic injustices have entrenched. Social Determinants of Health research has long linked socio-economic inequalities to poor health outcomes, and addressing these determinants can form one element of a broader reparatory programme. This response to the need to repair past wrongs acknowledges the moral case for both reparation and health equity, while meeting equality and health obligations in domestic and international law.

Speaker

Michael Thomson is Professor of Health Law at the University of Leeds and University of Technology Sydney, where he is the Director of Law I Health I Justice. His research interests span the fields of health law, children’s rights, and legal and political theory. He has written on the legal regulation of reproduction, non-therapeutic interventions on children, and social and political theories that centre the body as a means of rearticulating the responsibilities of the state. His current work explores the role of law in addressing health inequalities. Recent publications include: ‘Health Inequalities: Law & the Pain of Others’, Social & Legal Studies (2022); ‘A Capabilities Approach to Best Interests Assessments’, Legal Studies (2021); ‘Conscience, Abortion, and Jurisdiction’, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies (2020) (with S. McGuinness); and A Jurisprudence of the Body (edited with C. Dietz and M. Travis, Palgrave, 2020).