‘Lady Doctor among the “Called”’: Dr Letitia Fairfield and Catholic medico-legal activism beyond the bar

Alana Gaye Harris

doi:10.1080/09612025.2019.1702789

‘Lady Doctor among the “Called”’: Dr Letitia Fairfield and Catholic medico-legal activism beyond the bar

Alana Gaye Harris

History

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Abstract

Dr Letitia Fairfield’s admission to Middle Temple in 1923 is usually a footnote in descriptions of her trailblazing career as a public health official and Catholic controversialist. Yet while she did not practise as a barrister, her legal formation, powers of oratory and fascination with jurisprudence were enduring legacies in a long and illustrious career. Whether providing intellectual resources to tackle the Eugenics Society or practical tools to adjudicate the relationship between remedial medicine and the State, Fairfield’s legal ethics were founded on her interpretation of the Judeo-Christian roots of the English common law. In her enduring jurisprudential commitment to the rights and dignity of the individual, Fairfield’s call to the bar was another aspect of her feminism and lifelong pursuit of the politics of conscience.

Original language	English
Journal	Women's History Review
Early online date	20 Dec 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2019.1702789
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 20 Dec 2019

Keywords

Catholicism
Letitia Fairfield
London County Council
medicine
Middle Temple

UN SDGs

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10.1080/09612025.2019.1702789

Lady Doctor among the_HARRIS_Acc28Oct2019_GREEN AAMAccepted author manuscript, 418 KB

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‘Lady Doctor among the “Called”’: Dr Letitia Fairfield and Catholic medico-legal activism beyond the bar

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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