The MEC (medical ethics committee) is made up of BMA members from a wide range of specialties and experience, alongside lay members who are experts in their fields including theology, law and moral philosophy.
Our priorities
- The MEC debates ethical issues on the relationship between the medical profession, the public and the state.
- The committee liaises with the General Medical Council (GMC) on all ethical matters affecting medical practice.
- The MEC is supported by the ethics secretariat, who also produce detailed guidance and discussion papers on a wide range of medico-ethical issues and offer individual ethical advice to members.
Our people
The committee is comprised of the chief officers (ex-officio), seven members elected by the representative body, three members and two deputy members elected by council, and up to eight external members appointed by council in disciplines such as law, moral philosophy, natural sciences or the health professions.
Representatives from the General Medical Council and the Royal College of Nursing sit on the committee as observers.
Chair: Dr John Chisholm
Deputy chair: Dr Zoe Greaves
Chief officers
President: Professor Raanan Gillon
Chair of the representative body: Dr Helena McKeown
Chair of council: Dr Chaand Nagpaul
Treasurer: Dr Trevor Pickersgill
Elected by the representative body
Dr Hannah Barham-Brown
Dr John Chisholm
Dr Jaqueline Davis
Professor Baroness Ilora Finlay
Dr Surendra Kumar
Dr Penelope Toff
Dr Jan Wise
Elected by council
Dr Zoe Greaves
Dr Andrew Green
Dr Mary McCarthy
Appointed by council
Professor Bobbie Farsides
Professor Robin Gill
Professor Emily Jackson
David Lock QC
Dr Mary Neal
Professor Richard Huxtable
Professor Gurch Randhawa
Professor Dominic Wilkinson
Deputies
Dr Dominic Whitehouse
Dr Ian Wilson
Observers
General Medical Council: Mary Agnew
Royal College of Nursing: Dr Janet Holt
Our meetings
The committee meets four times a year to discuss the latest issues affecting the medical profession. Our meetings are open to all elected medical ethics representatives, but non-members can apply to attend via the committee visitors scheme.
Upcoming meetings:
Dates for 2020/21 will be published in due course.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the work of the medical ethics committee, please email [email protected].