This is the full issue of Medicine, Law & Society, Volume 19, Number 2, published in October 2026.
Singapore faces severe demographic challenges, including low fertility rates and an aging population, necessitating a reevaluation of current family formation policies, particularly the ban on gestational surrogacy. It is argued that the legalization and regulation of surrogacy in Singapore is needed to address demographic pressures and infertility. A domestic regulatory framework would provide a safe pathway to parenthood while mitigating the legal and ethical risks of unregulated cross-border arrangements. Furthermore, legalization could stimulate demand for specialized healthcare and legal services. To align with Singapore’s conservative sociocultural norms, the proposed framework should initially be based on altruism and permit access only to married heterosexual couples. Ultimately, legalizing surrogacy under stringent oversight, featuring clear eligibility criteria and a dedicated regulatory body, would balance reproductive autonomy with collective values. This approach fosters a more inclusive society while prioritizing child welfare and preventing exploitation, thereby offering a pragmatic solution to mitigate Singapore's demographic crisis.
Peer violence, commonly conceptualized as bullying, constitutes a pervasive challenge affecting students both globally and within North Macedonia. Beyond its immediate psychological and emotional impact on victims, bullying shapes the overall school climate, influencing students’ safety, inclusion, and well-being. Victimization is associated with elevated fear, social withdrawal, and disrupted peer relationships, which can reinforce cycles of aggression. Empirical analyses indicate that supportive peer interactions reduce the likelihood of being targeted. The study further highlights that awareness of bullying and students’ emotional experiences are crucial for understanding the dynamics of peer victimization. These findings underscore the multifactorial and systemic nature of bullying and emphasize the importance of promoting resilience and fostering positive peer relations to ensure a safe, inclusive, and supportive educational environment.
This paper examines maternal care across the continuum of pregnancy, labour, and the postpartum period through a regulatory and policy lens. It analyzes international legal frameworks and clinical standards alongside documented experiences of women in practice, both globally and in Serbia. By comparing normative commitments and how they are implemented in Serbia, the paper identifies key gaps between formal regulations and lived experiences. It further explores structural, institutional and legal factors contributing to these discrepancies and concludes with policy and regulatory recommendations designed to improve compliance, accountability, and the quality of maternal care.
Modern healthcare is built on the principle of informed consent which is the basis of patient autonomy and self-determination. However, this model has its very clear limits when applied to high-risk and vulnerable patients whose decision-making capacity is impaired. This study examines what lies behind consent in healthcare and asks how legal systems can protect high-risk patients without undermining their dignity, agency and human rights. The analysis adopts a comparative legal approach. It relies on international instruments and national examples from diverse legal traditions. The article argues that vulnerability should not serve as a justification for paternalism or uncontrolled coercion. Going beyond consent does not mean abandoning autonomy, it means reconceptualizing it in a way that ensures self-determination and protection for those most vulnerable in health care systems.
