Prof. Belinda Bennett1
1School of Law and Justice, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia
Biography:
Belinda Bennett is Head of School and Dean, School of Law and Justice, The University of Newcastle, NSW. Belinda was previously Professor of Health Law in the School of Law at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and is currently an Adjunct Professor at QUT. Her research spans assisted reproduction, law and genetics, and public health law.
Abstract:
This paper argues for the development of ‘rural health law’ to recognise the rights and health-related needs of people living in regional, rural and remote areas. In recent years there has been a growing recognition of rural health within bioethics, and the development of rural perspectives in bioethics. However, there has been little analysis of rural health from a health law perspective.
There are three parts to this paper. The first part provides an overview of the health of rural communities in Australia. People living in regional, rural and remote areas often have poorer health, and less access to health care than those living in urban areas. Drawing on recent literature from law and bioethics, the second part of the paper seeks to develop a theoretical framework for rural health law, and proposes key themes for analysis. The final part of the paper considers the relevance of rural health for existing areas of health law, arguing for an expanded understanding of contemporary health law.