Cosmetic procedures: ethical issues

In order to inform its deliberations, the working party carried out a wide range of evidence gathering activities.

Open consultation

The working party sought views and evidence in two formats. The first was an 18-question document aimed at professional organisations, stakeholders, and researchers; the second was a broader 15- question survey hosted by the Survey Monkey website which sought the views of members of the public with a general interest in cosmetic procedures.

• Expert call for evidence – analysis
• Public survey – summary of responses

Individual responses to the call for evidence

Individuals

• Anonymous (1)
  
• Anonymous (2)
  
• Anonymous (3)
  
• Anonymous (4)
  
• Professor Dennis Baker
• Dr David Bell, University of Leeds, and Professor Ruth Holliday, University of Leeds
  
• Dr Sara Fovargue, Law School and Lancaster Centre for Bioethics and Medical Law, Lancaster University, and Dr Alexandra Mullock, School of Law and Centre for Social Ethics and Policy, University of Manchester
  
• Dr Melanie Latham
  
• Professor Jackie Leach Scully and Dr Simon Woods, Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences Research Centre (PEALS), Newcastle University
• Dr Anne-Marie Martindale, The University of ManchesterFrancesca Minerva, FWO Post-doctoral fellow, University of Ghent, Faculty of Philosophy and Moral Sciences
  
• Dr Ashley Morgan, School of Art and Design, Cardiff Metropolitan University
• Lois Rogers, specialist journalist
  
• Dr Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor, Lecturer in Sociology, University of Leicester
  
• Professor Marilyn Strathern
  
• Dr David Veale
  
• Merryl Willis

Organisations

• Anonymous (5)
  
• Anonymous (6)
  
• Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA)
  
• Bio Law and Ethics Department of Avicenna Research Institute (I.R. Iran)
  
• British Association of Cosmetic Nurses – BACN
  
• British Dermatological Nursing Group
  
• British Medical Association
  
• Christian Medical Fellowship
  
• Expert Council on Cosmetic Interventions (ECCI), formally endorsed by the Royal College of Physicians
  
• Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) / FGFP
  
• General Medical Council
  
• Girlguiding
  
• Health and Human Rights Unit, School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast
  
• Mission and Public Affairs Council, Church of England
  
• National Bioethics Commission of Mexico
  
• The Scottish Government
  
• University of Edinburgh, class of ‘Contemporary issues in medical jurisprudence (Honours)’

Fact-finding meetings

Between February 2016 and June 2017, the working party held a series of fact-finding meetings, which addressed distinct questions and issues that arose throughout the project. More details about each meeting is available at Annex A of the full report.

Literature reviews

Three literature reviews were carried out:

• Literature review: Cosmetic procedures: demand, motivations and influencing factors
• Literature review: Post-procedure experiences
• Review of the evidence of harms caused by the use of non-therapeutic cosmetic procedures

Roundtable on cosmetic procedures

On 28 January 2014 the Council held a roundtable scoping meeting to help explore and establish the major ethical and societal questions raised by the increasing use of cosmetic procedures.

The aim of this roundtable meeting was to bring together a range of experts to advise the Nuffield Council on Bioethics about how it might usefully contribute to debates surrounding cosmetic procedures and related discussions of body modification, beauty and normalness.

Participants included academics from the fields of social anthropology, ethics, psychology, clinical medicine, childhood studies and appearance studies; representatives from charities and campaigning organisations; artists, art academics and art advisors; Government officials; and practitioners, such as GPs, aesthetics surgeons and nurses.

The key issues and themes that emerged helped to inform the Council’s project on cosmetic procedures.

Download a note of the meeting.