Bioethics & the law of the future

Sascha Callaghan is a researcher, lecturer, policy advisor and writer in health law and bioethics.. Her work spans a range of issues related to medicine, technology and personhood, with a particular focus on mental health, pregnancy and reproduction, and the use of artificial intelligence. She is especially interested in how emerging technologies including neuroscience, reproductive technologies and AI, impact personal autonomy, legal rights and moral values, and our understanding of what it means to be human.  This work has informed Sascha’s advisory and governance work with organisations including NSW Health, the Disability Royal Commission, the Australian & New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Australasian Birth Trauma Association.

Sascha is also a regular contributor to media discussions in print, television, radio and online, including in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Guardian, SBS, ABC Radio, ABC News, and Channel 9’s the Project.

Sascha is a member of the Law Health Justice Centre and teaches Bioemedical Law & Ethics in the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology, Sydney. She is currently researching criminal risk behaviours in dementia, and working on her book project on religious beliefs and AI.

Themes

AI ETHICS

AI ethics is crucial for both government and business as AI systems become more prevalent. Concerns about data privacy, algorithmic transparency, accountability, and fairness are frequently raised by both pundits and the public. In areas such as public services, law enforcement, and healthcare, AI systems must be as transparent as possible and free from bias. Businesses, too, must ensure the responsible use of customer data, avoid discriminatory practices, and maintain accountability when AI systems cause harm.

Broader ethical questions also arise, such as the societal impact on employment, economic systems, and the role of AI-generated art and culture. Philosophers, meanwhile, are contemplating the potential for artificial general intelligence and its implications for the human relationship with a novel intelligent entity.

Addressing these ethical challenges—from the procedural to the philosophical—is essential for fostering trust, ensuring compliance, and promoting responsible AI innovation.

MENTAL HEALTH & THE AGING BRAIN

My work in mental health and dementia focuses on the legal and ethical dimensions of care, and systems for supported decision-making. With a PhD in law and mental health, I have advised public and private organizations on policy and regulatory frameworks related to involuntary treatment, advance care planning, and human rights protections for individuals with mental illness. My work includes consulting for bodies such as NSW Health and the Queensland Mental Health Commission, addressing critical issues in consumer and carer protections, particularly for those facing complex health challenges, such as those associated with aging and dementia.  Most recently I have been involved with a project based at the University of Technology, Sydney, looking a criminal risk behaviours in people with dementia, with input from the Australian Disability Commission, Carers NSW and NSW Justice Health.

REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES, PREGNANCY & BIRTH

How does the law protect a fetus in utero? How does the law protect a woman who wishes to end a pregnancy? How much can you design your baby? Who owns sperm and ova, and who is allowed to use them?

These are critical questions in the area of reproductive technologies, where the law intersects with deeply personal and complex ethical issues. My work focuses on the regulation of women’s bodies, reproductive technologies, and healthcare ethics. I have as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and now at the Univeristy of Technology Sydney I have taught law and reproduction to law students and postgraduates in the Master of Health Law. I was an advisor the the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on consent frameworks in natural birth, and am the research advisor for the Australasian Birth Trauma Association.

DEATH

When thinking about law ethics at the end of life, practical questions often arise. What are our options as patients, and as decision makers as we reach the end of life? What is the process after we die? What happens to the valuable tissues we leave behind?

Voluntary assisted dying (euthanasia) is now available in every Australian state and territory, giving us ever more choice over how we die. We are yet to fully assess the impacts of these laws, and to understand how effective they are in protecting the autonomy of terminally ill people (and others who seek euthanasia), while also protecting vulnerable people from harm. Others wonder how the availability of VAD impacts our shared understandings of the experience of death, the value of life at various stages, and what we think of as the “right” thing to do when facing illness, disability, and the end of a human life. As a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney I taught health law and ethics to law students and postgraduate students working in health care, law and government. I was a policy advisor to NSW Health on end of life decision making for people with mental illness and dementia and have written numerous articles on death decision making and suicide in academic journals and the general media.