Roy porter student prize essay, 2012 easing the passing: R v Adams and terminal care in postwar Britain

Abstract

This article examines the 1957 trial for murder of Dr John Bodkin Adams in the context of medical care of the dying in postwar Britain. R v Adams is significant because it is understood to have rendered lawful the medical administration of pain-relieving drugs to the dying even when it is known they will hasten death. I argue the legal sanction of this practice in the 1950s reflected and reinforced the rising authority and faith invested in physicians as specialists in terminal care. Specifically, the case highlights the role of the administration of potent narcotics in the establishment of care of the dying as a branch of medicine requiring specialised knowledge and skills. Finally, I argue that by drawing attention to a medical intervention intent on eliminating pain, the Adams case enables exploration of an aspect of the medicalisation of dying in the twentieth century that is rarely examined.