Neera Bhatia | Deakin University (original) (raw)
Dr Neera Bhatia is an Associate Professor. She holds an LLB (Hons), Master of Laws from the UK, and a Doctorate in Law from Deakin University. Neera is the Director of 'Law, Health, and Society' (LHS) a collaborative research unit based at Deakin University that critically evaluates health law, policy, regulation, and ethics to improve and advance well-being and health outcomes throughout society.
Neera is the author of 'Critically impaired infants and end of life decision making: Resource allocation and difficult decisions', published by Routledge Cavendish (UK). She has published widely on contemporary issues in health law and bioethics. Her research interests are in end-of-life decision-making for critically ill infants and children, organ donation, voluntary assisted dying, determination of death, and emerging health and reproductive technologies. Neera actively engages with the wider community as an expert commentator in the media on topical issues in health law.
She teaches Health Law in the undergraduate and postgraduate programs at Deakin University. She is the Deputy Chair, Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee, and the former Faculty Chair, Human Ethics Committee. She has previously served as the health law stream leader for the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law (AABHL) and the Deputy Convenor of the Deakin Science and Society Network (SSN). She has also previously been a member of several clinical ethics committees
Supervisors: Available for Masters/PhD supervision
Phone: +61 3 9244 6594
Address: Deakin University, School of Law, Melbourne, Australia
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Papers by Neera Bhatia
The Medical Journal of Australia, Oct 1, 2012
Medical Journal of Australia
Springer eBooks, 2023
This chapter considers the prospect of generating human organs within chimeric animals comprised ... more This chapter considers the prospect of generating human organs within chimeric animals comprised of a mix of human and animal cells. Although seemingly farfetched-the term 'chimera' even means, in some modern usage, a "mere wild fancy" or "unfounded conception" (Oxford English Dictionary (n.d.) 'chimera | chimaera, n.', OED Online. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www. oed.com/view/Entry/31708)-recent research into interspecies blastocyst complementation is paving the way toward growing human organs inside of human-animal chimeras, potentially within the not-too-distant future Zheng et al. (Development 148(12), 2021). These human-animal chimeras promise important advances within regenerative medicine and medical research. They also raise some profound bioethical issues, which we survey below.
University of New South Wales Law Journal , 2021
This article considers the current law in Australia that regulates early release of superannuatio... more This article considers the current law in Australia that regulates early release of superannuation on compassionate grounds, for Assisted Reproductive Technology ('ART') to alleviate a 'mental disturbance'. We examine the role of the fertility industry and third-party intermediaries in this pursuit. Current mechanisms for early release may give rise to ethical concerns, especially given the emotional vulnerability of persons accessing ART, whose successful applications are based on a diagnosis of 'mental disturbance'. We do not argue for a blanket prohibition of early release for ART. Rather, we make several recommendations that include financial counselling for individuals or couples-independent of fertility clinics prior to making a financial decision to access superannuation early. The law concerning early release on grounds of 'mental disturbance' is ripe for reform. Necessary and appropriate reforms may lead to better retirement outcomes for those accessing ART, and greater public faith in the fertility industry and its practitioners.
Medical Journal of Australia , 2023
Journal of law and medicine, 2015
This article provides a critical examination of the allocation of scarce public health care funds... more This article provides a critical examination of the allocation of scarce public health care funds in relation to extremely premature and sick neonates. Decisions to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment from neonates born extremely premature are generally informed by arbitrary and often subjective considerations of those involved in their care--namely parents and medical practitioners. This article argues for a sharp and immediate focus in decisions to treat such neonates based on the allocation of limited health care resources. Accordingly, decisions to save and preserve the lives of imperilled neonates should not be limited to the immediate financial costs of medical treatment. More explicitly there should be a full appreciation of the cost of disability to the family requirements for long-term care, and the benefits and associated costs of life, not only to the patient, but also to society.
Clinical Ethics
In this article, we explore alternative conflict resolution strategies to assist families and cli... more In this article, we explore alternative conflict resolution strategies to assist families and clinicians in cases of intractable dissent in paediatric health care decision-making. We focus on the ethical and legal landscape using cases from the Australian jurisdiction in New South Wales, while referencing some global sentinel cases. We highlight a range of alternative means of addressing conflict, including clinical ethics support, and contrast and contextualise facilitative or interest-based mediation, concluding that legal intervention via the courts can be protracted and distressing and should be a ‘last resort’. We acknowledge many might view this as the current status quo, but we go further to recommend strategies optimal for all parties to recognise early signs of conflict and prevent its harmful escalation. While more empirical research is needed, we contend that interest-based mediation may be a valuable adjunctive method of conflict resolution. If judiciously distinguished ...
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry
EACME Newsletter, Apr 1, 2020
Neera Bhatia undertook the review and provided the first draft; Dr Giles Birchley (University of ... more Neera Bhatia undertook the review and provided the first draft; Dr Giles Birchley (University of Bristol, Centre for Ethics in Medicine) provided advice and comments on the first draft; Professor Richard Huxtable and Dr Jonathan Ives (University of Bristol, Centre for Ethics in Medicine) provided further edits to subsequent drafts. Note The author was commissioned by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics to write this review to inform its work on the disagreements that can arise in the care of critically ill children. Any views expressed in the paper are the author's own and not those of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.
This book focuses on the legal and ethical complexities surrounding end of life decisions for cri... more This book focuses on the legal and ethical complexities surrounding end of life decisions for critically impaired and extremely premature infants. Neera Bhatia explores arbitrary decisions to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment from critically impaired infants and addresses the controversial question: which lives are too expensive to treat? Bringing to bear such key issues as clinical guidance, public awareness, and resource allocation, the book provides a rational approach to end of life decision making, where decisions to withdraw or withhold treatment may trump other competing interests.
Journal of law and medicine, 2021
Legal definitions of death and its medical determination have been challenged in high-profile cas... more Legal definitions of death and its medical determination have been challenged in high-profile cases in several jurisdictions which define death as either cessation of all functions of the brain or only of the brain stem. Several patients diagnosed brain dead have recovered some vestigial brain activity. Plaintiffs, seeking to prevent withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, have sought to prevent performance of the key test, the apnoeic-oxygenation test, because it can cause harm and as a medical procedure requires informed consent. Reform of the American Uniform Determination of Death Act, which resembles Australian legislation, has been proposed to include specification of the medical determination of death and lack of requirement of consent to conduct testing. In this article we consider cases and proposals for law reform, concluding that the Australian definition of brain death ought to be retained but that the apnoeic-oxygenation test should be abandoned in lieu of testing brai...
Discussions and decisions relating to cadaveric organ donation after a person’s death are challen... more Discussions and decisions relating to cadaveric organ donation after a person’s death are challenging and complex for all involved: the potential donor, family members and medical teams. Australia and New Zealand have significant shortages of transplantable organs under their “opt-in” systems of donation in which organs are procured only from persons who had consented before their death to donate. Although a majority of Australians and New Zealanders agree with organ donation, only a minority of Australians register to become donors and consent to donate. New Zealand does not have an organ donor register. Organ procurement may increase under an “opt-out” system of donation. Such a system of donation “presumes” that every person has consented to donate their organs after death unless they have declared their objection, and their next of kin would be unable to veto organ procurement. This system of organ donation is dependent on a long-held legal principle that no property exists in a...
This thesis finds there is a need for greater transparency and objectivity in end-of-life decisio... more This thesis finds there is a need for greater transparency and objectivity in end-of-life decision making for extremely premature and critically ill infants. To achieve this objectivity, the allocation of finite public healthcare resources, and corresponding quality of life, should be a principal consideration in treatment decisions.
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 2021
In a ruling in New South Wales (Lee (a pseudonym) v Dhupar [2020] NSWDC 717), the District Court ... more In a ruling in New South Wales (Lee (a pseudonym) v Dhupar [2020] NSWDC 717), the District Court determined that the cost of rearing a child following a failed sterilization procedure (tubal ligation) caused by the negligence of the medical practitioner cannot be recovered. However, other losses such as economic loss associated with psychiatric or physical injuries due the conception, pregnancy, and birth of a healthy child can be recovered. The court awarded the plaintiff $408,700 (AUD) following a surgical error made during a tubal ligation which resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. The key issue for the court to determine in this case was whether a medical practitioner had negligently performed an elective tubal ligation procedure (sterilization) that led to an unwanted pregnancy. The lengthy, three hundred or so page judgment required the court to consider various issues, some of which are discussed below—including expert professional opinion and issues that concerned the reliability and credibility of factual testimony.
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 2020
The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issue of rationing finite healthcare resources to th... more The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issue of rationing finite healthcare resources to the fore. There has been much academic debate, media attention, and conversation in the homes of everyday individuals about the allocation of medical resources, diagnostic testing kits, ventilators, and personal protective equipment. Yet decisions to prioritize treatment for some individuals over others occur implicitly and explicitly in everyday practices. The pandemic has propelled the socially taboo and unavoidably prickly issue of healthcare rationing into the public spotlight-and as such, healthcare rationing demands ongoing public attention and transparent discussion. This article concludes that in the aftermath of COVID-19, policymakers should work towards normalizing rationing discussions by engaging in transparent and honest debate in the wider community and public domain. Further, injecting greater openness and objectivity into rationing decisions might go some way towards dismantling the societal taboo surrounding rationing in healthcare.
![Research paper thumbnail of Whittington Hospital NHS Trust v XX [2020] UKSC 14](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/103600515/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 2020
The Medical Journal of Australia, Oct 1, 2012
Medical Journal of Australia
Springer eBooks, 2023
This chapter considers the prospect of generating human organs within chimeric animals comprised ... more This chapter considers the prospect of generating human organs within chimeric animals comprised of a mix of human and animal cells. Although seemingly farfetched-the term 'chimera' even means, in some modern usage, a "mere wild fancy" or "unfounded conception" (Oxford English Dictionary (n.d.) 'chimera | chimaera, n.', OED Online. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www. oed.com/view/Entry/31708)-recent research into interspecies blastocyst complementation is paving the way toward growing human organs inside of human-animal chimeras, potentially within the not-too-distant future Zheng et al. (Development 148(12), 2021). These human-animal chimeras promise important advances within regenerative medicine and medical research. They also raise some profound bioethical issues, which we survey below.
University of New South Wales Law Journal , 2021
This article considers the current law in Australia that regulates early release of superannuatio... more This article considers the current law in Australia that regulates early release of superannuation on compassionate grounds, for Assisted Reproductive Technology ('ART') to alleviate a 'mental disturbance'. We examine the role of the fertility industry and third-party intermediaries in this pursuit. Current mechanisms for early release may give rise to ethical concerns, especially given the emotional vulnerability of persons accessing ART, whose successful applications are based on a diagnosis of 'mental disturbance'. We do not argue for a blanket prohibition of early release for ART. Rather, we make several recommendations that include financial counselling for individuals or couples-independent of fertility clinics prior to making a financial decision to access superannuation early. The law concerning early release on grounds of 'mental disturbance' is ripe for reform. Necessary and appropriate reforms may lead to better retirement outcomes for those accessing ART, and greater public faith in the fertility industry and its practitioners.
Medical Journal of Australia , 2023
Journal of law and medicine, 2015
This article provides a critical examination of the allocation of scarce public health care funds... more This article provides a critical examination of the allocation of scarce public health care funds in relation to extremely premature and sick neonates. Decisions to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment from neonates born extremely premature are generally informed by arbitrary and often subjective considerations of those involved in their care--namely parents and medical practitioners. This article argues for a sharp and immediate focus in decisions to treat such neonates based on the allocation of limited health care resources. Accordingly, decisions to save and preserve the lives of imperilled neonates should not be limited to the immediate financial costs of medical treatment. More explicitly there should be a full appreciation of the cost of disability to the family requirements for long-term care, and the benefits and associated costs of life, not only to the patient, but also to society.
Clinical Ethics
In this article, we explore alternative conflict resolution strategies to assist families and cli... more In this article, we explore alternative conflict resolution strategies to assist families and clinicians in cases of intractable dissent in paediatric health care decision-making. We focus on the ethical and legal landscape using cases from the Australian jurisdiction in New South Wales, while referencing some global sentinel cases. We highlight a range of alternative means of addressing conflict, including clinical ethics support, and contrast and contextualise facilitative or interest-based mediation, concluding that legal intervention via the courts can be protracted and distressing and should be a ‘last resort’. We acknowledge many might view this as the current status quo, but we go further to recommend strategies optimal for all parties to recognise early signs of conflict and prevent its harmful escalation. While more empirical research is needed, we contend that interest-based mediation may be a valuable adjunctive method of conflict resolution. If judiciously distinguished ...
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry
EACME Newsletter, Apr 1, 2020
Neera Bhatia undertook the review and provided the first draft; Dr Giles Birchley (University of ... more Neera Bhatia undertook the review and provided the first draft; Dr Giles Birchley (University of Bristol, Centre for Ethics in Medicine) provided advice and comments on the first draft; Professor Richard Huxtable and Dr Jonathan Ives (University of Bristol, Centre for Ethics in Medicine) provided further edits to subsequent drafts. Note The author was commissioned by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics to write this review to inform its work on the disagreements that can arise in the care of critically ill children. Any views expressed in the paper are the author's own and not those of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.
This book focuses on the legal and ethical complexities surrounding end of life decisions for cri... more This book focuses on the legal and ethical complexities surrounding end of life decisions for critically impaired and extremely premature infants. Neera Bhatia explores arbitrary decisions to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment from critically impaired infants and addresses the controversial question: which lives are too expensive to treat? Bringing to bear such key issues as clinical guidance, public awareness, and resource allocation, the book provides a rational approach to end of life decision making, where decisions to withdraw or withhold treatment may trump other competing interests.
Journal of law and medicine, 2021
Legal definitions of death and its medical determination have been challenged in high-profile cas... more Legal definitions of death and its medical determination have been challenged in high-profile cases in several jurisdictions which define death as either cessation of all functions of the brain or only of the brain stem. Several patients diagnosed brain dead have recovered some vestigial brain activity. Plaintiffs, seeking to prevent withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, have sought to prevent performance of the key test, the apnoeic-oxygenation test, because it can cause harm and as a medical procedure requires informed consent. Reform of the American Uniform Determination of Death Act, which resembles Australian legislation, has been proposed to include specification of the medical determination of death and lack of requirement of consent to conduct testing. In this article we consider cases and proposals for law reform, concluding that the Australian definition of brain death ought to be retained but that the apnoeic-oxygenation test should be abandoned in lieu of testing brai...
Discussions and decisions relating to cadaveric organ donation after a person’s death are challen... more Discussions and decisions relating to cadaveric organ donation after a person’s death are challenging and complex for all involved: the potential donor, family members and medical teams. Australia and New Zealand have significant shortages of transplantable organs under their “opt-in” systems of donation in which organs are procured only from persons who had consented before their death to donate. Although a majority of Australians and New Zealanders agree with organ donation, only a minority of Australians register to become donors and consent to donate. New Zealand does not have an organ donor register. Organ procurement may increase under an “opt-out” system of donation. Such a system of donation “presumes” that every person has consented to donate their organs after death unless they have declared their objection, and their next of kin would be unable to veto organ procurement. This system of organ donation is dependent on a long-held legal principle that no property exists in a...
This thesis finds there is a need for greater transparency and objectivity in end-of-life decisio... more This thesis finds there is a need for greater transparency and objectivity in end-of-life decision making for extremely premature and critically ill infants. To achieve this objectivity, the allocation of finite public healthcare resources, and corresponding quality of life, should be a principal consideration in treatment decisions.
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 2021
In a ruling in New South Wales (Lee (a pseudonym) v Dhupar [2020] NSWDC 717), the District Court ... more In a ruling in New South Wales (Lee (a pseudonym) v Dhupar [2020] NSWDC 717), the District Court determined that the cost of rearing a child following a failed sterilization procedure (tubal ligation) caused by the negligence of the medical practitioner cannot be recovered. However, other losses such as economic loss associated with psychiatric or physical injuries due the conception, pregnancy, and birth of a healthy child can be recovered. The court awarded the plaintiff $408,700 (AUD) following a surgical error made during a tubal ligation which resulted in an unplanned pregnancy. The key issue for the court to determine in this case was whether a medical practitioner had negligently performed an elective tubal ligation procedure (sterilization) that led to an unwanted pregnancy. The lengthy, three hundred or so page judgment required the court to consider various issues, some of which are discussed below—including expert professional opinion and issues that concerned the reliability and credibility of factual testimony.
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 2020
The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issue of rationing finite healthcare resources to th... more The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issue of rationing finite healthcare resources to the fore. There has been much academic debate, media attention, and conversation in the homes of everyday individuals about the allocation of medical resources, diagnostic testing kits, ventilators, and personal protective equipment. Yet decisions to prioritize treatment for some individuals over others occur implicitly and explicitly in everyday practices. The pandemic has propelled the socially taboo and unavoidably prickly issue of healthcare rationing into the public spotlight-and as such, healthcare rationing demands ongoing public attention and transparent discussion. This article concludes that in the aftermath of COVID-19, policymakers should work towards normalizing rationing discussions by engaging in transparent and honest debate in the wider community and public domain. Further, injecting greater openness and objectivity into rationing decisions might go some way towards dismantling the societal taboo surrounding rationing in healthcare.
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 2020
This book focuses on the legal and ethical complexities surrounding end of life decisions for cr... more This book focuses on the legal and ethical complexities
surrounding end of life decisions for critically impaired and
extremely premature infants. Neera Bhatia explores arbitrary
decisions to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment
from critically impaired infants and addresses the
controversial question: which lives are too expensive to
treat? Bringing to bear such key issues as clinical guidance,
public awareness, and resource allocation, the book
provides a rational approach to end of life decision making,
where decisions to withdraw or withhold treatment may
trump other competing interests.
Melbourne University Public Lecture: 25 August 2015
Australian Lawyers Alliance: Medical Law Conference, Sydney: 31 July 2015
Grand Round Presentation at Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne: 24 June 2015
The Wire Community Radio Interview: 8 July 2015
ABC Radio National Interview: 16 June 2015
Handbook of Bioethical Decisions. Volume I Decisions at the Bench, 2023
This chapter considers the prospect of generating human organs within chimeric animals comprised ... more This chapter considers the prospect of generating human organs within chimeric animals comprised of a mix of human and animal cells. Although seemingly farfetched-the term 'chimera' even means, in some modern usage, a "mere wild fancy" or "unfounded conception" (Oxford English Dictionary (n.d.) 'chimera | chimaera, n.', OED Online. Oxford University Press. Available at: https://www. oed.com/view/Entry/31708)-recent research into interspecies blastocyst complementation is paving the way toward growing human organs inside of human-animal chimeras, potentially within the not-too-distant future Zheng et al. (Development 148(12), 2021). These human-animal chimeras promise important advances within regenerative medicine and medical research. They also raise some profound bioethical issues, which we survey below.
Written by renowned experts from Australia, Canada, the United States, Asia, and Europe, Telesurg... more Written by renowned experts from Australia, Canada, the United States, Asia, and Europe, Telesurgery explains technical issues, digital information processing, and provides collective experiences from practitioners in different parts of the world who perform a wide range of telesurgery applications.
This includes transatlantic telesurgery and telesurgery for urology, brachytherapy, Heller myotomy, etc. There are numerous graphics and clinical photographs throughout, which illustrate and illuminate the text well, providing high-quality visual reference material.
Telesurgery lays the foundation for the globalization of surgical procedures, making possible the ability of a surgeon located in one part of the world to operate on a patient located in another.
Written by international experts from around the globe, i.e., from the USA, Europe, Australasia, ... more Written by international experts from around the globe, i.e., from the USA, Europe, Australasia, and Africa, this book explains technical issues, digital imaging, and collective experiences of practitioners in different parts of the world practicing a wide range of teleophthalmology applications.
Ophthalmologists, optometrists, nurses, and primary care providers will find valuable and up-to-date information on how to successfully establish programs in this field.
