Welcome to the MJLH’s Health Law Blog!
Over the coming weeks and months we hope that this blog will assist YOU, the reader, in staying up to date, informed and enthralled with the dynamic and budding field that is at the intersection of health, legal, policy, and ethical issues.
Over the course of the last four years, the MJLH has been at the forefront of confronting the standard shibboleths lurking behind the academic journal. While we have retained what we consider its best qualities – commitments to rigorous peer review and excellence in publication – we have been at the vanguard of changing technologies. Our dedication to being student-run, our focus on the intersection(s) of health and the law, and our online open-access platform clearly set us apart from our contemporary peers.
In the spirit of continued innovation we are thus pushing to find fresh ways that we can reach new audiences and further the diffusion of ideas and discussion. To that end we have decided to launch a blog as part of the redevelopment of our website.
The blog’s purposes and goals will be multifold.
Firstly, we hope to be able to publish material that, while valuable, would not necessarily be published in an academic journal. Through our blog, contributors will be able to provide content such as case comments and reflection pieces (to name only a few). As is often the case, many writers and critics have a great idea but perhaps not the time or the resources to get it published and into public discourse.
Secondly, we hope to facilitate discussion about issues in law and health. The blog will allow for readers to become part of the conversation by leaving commentary on blog posts.
Thirdly, we aim to serve as a bridge for different branches of the legal profession and the greater community to enter into dialogue with each other. Often it seems that those working in different areas of the law are isolated in their own communities with little cross-disciplinary dialogue. We hope to remedy that by providing a space where not only scholars, but also legal practitioners, law students and invested community members can contribute to public discussions.
It is an exciting time to be involved in health and the law. Not only has the area received increasing academic attention but also new technologies have the potential to redefine the way in which the academy, the legal community and the general public confront health law issues head on. It is our goal that our new Health Law Blog becomes one forum for those discussions and debates!
Sincerely,
Your team at the MJLH.
McGill Journal of Law and Health 