Long-standing Medico Legal Society member, Professor Kevin Dalton, retired Obstetrician & Gynaecologist and Legal Medicine of St Catharine’s College Cambridge also quondam Visiting Professor to Northumbria University School of Law, has kindly given the Society a letter of historical interest.
He bought it many years ago from an antiquarian book dealer in London.
The original letter will now be kept with the President’s medallion of office.
The letter, dated 15 September 1904, is a reply from Charles Hopwood KC to the Council of the Society, who wished Charles Hopwood to become the next President.
I have transcribed the letter below as the original is quite difficult to read.
Dear Sir
I am very sensible of the compliment paid to me by the Council in nominating me to be President in succession to Sir WJ Collins were I younger and less employed in objects to which I feel bound, I should be happy to preside over so intellectual, and useful a Society, but my engagements & the sense of my unfitness make it imperative upon me to decline the honour with many thanks.
Believe me.
Truly yours,
Charles H Hopwood
Sir William Collins KCVO MD continued as President for another year, until he was succeeded by The Hon Mr Justice Walton in 1905. Charles Hopwood KC, unfortunately, died only a month after the letter was written.
Charles Hopwood served as a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1874 to 1895. He campaigned against compulsory smallpox vaccination under the Vaccination Act of 1853. He is referred to as an ‘’anti vaccinationist’’. However, further research reveals his concerns more to do with compulsory vaccination and the lack of consent (by the ‘’fathers’’).
On June 19 1883, He spoke in a parliamentary debate on Compulsory Vaccination.
The debate raised concepts of autonomy and individual liberty. Herd immunity, vaccine side-effects (cowpox vaccines), differences in society between the wealthy for whom a fine would be no matter and the poor who would be criminalised and sent to prison, coercion of women vaccinated against smallpox immediately after giving birth, and the efficacy of vaccination versus the natural history of the disease. Many of these topics remain of a pertinent medico legal interest today.
Sarah Galbraith
Informed Consent a Decade After Montgomery: Progress, Pitfalls, and Pathways Forward
Date: Tuesday 13th May 2025
Time: 09:30 – 14:00
Venue: Gatehouse Chambers 1 Lady Hale Gate, Gray’s Inn, London WC1X 8BS
Join us for a free conference on Montgomery v Lanarkshire, exploring how it transformed consent in medical law.
We’ll examine its practical impact on transplant surgery, obstetrics, and patient experience.
An expert panel will debate what the future should look like.
Don’t miss this vital conversation!
Programme
09:30 Registration
Chairs: James Pattison and Linda Lee
10.00 – 10.10 Welcome from the Medico-Legal Society
10.10 – 10.40 Why was Montgomery a landmark case and how has the law developed?
Dr Katy Peters, Solicitor, Associate Professor in Medical Law & Ethics, University of Surrey
10.40 – 11.10 Nadine Montgomery — Reflections
11.10 – 11.30 Coffee break
11.30 A clinician’s view of the impact of Montgomery:
Dr Daghni Rajasingam, Consultant Obstetrician, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, GSTT on the effect of Montgomery on Obstetrics
Mr Chris Callaghan, Consultant Transplant Surgeon, GSTT on the practical effect of consent on organ transplantation
12.10 A way forward? Dr Zoe Fritz, Fellow and Director of Studies in Clinical Medicine, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge
12:30 – 13:00 Panel Discussion
13.00 Lunch
Registration
This event is free to attend. RSVP to: [email protected], indicating if you would like to attend online or in person
This free event is brought to you by the Medico-Legal Society to support greater understanding and collaboration between the legal and medical professions.
Download our flyer for the event: Montgomery Symposium flyer.
