Barbara Hewson facts for kids

Barbara Mary Hewson (1961 – 9 January 2021) was an Anglo-Irish barrister with a practice in public law in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Hewson specialised in Court of Protection work, human rights, judicial review, and regulatory defence cases. She was interested in reproductive health and the rights of pregnant women, the mentally incapacitated and the mentally ill.

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Education

Although born in Ireland, Barbara Hewson studied at St. Leonards-Mayfield School, Mayfield, East Sussex (1972–79). She studied English at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge (1979–83).

She earned her B.A. (Hons) and upgraded her degree to a M.A. via the then Polytechnic of Central London, now the University of Westminster, where she obtained her conversion diploma in Law. In 1985, she was called to the Bar of England and Wales. In 1987, Hewson began her career in the Chancery bar, doing cases about wills, land and trusts, and she then joined a chambers specialising in EC and public law.

Practice profile

Hewson appeared in a number of high-profile cases. In the 1990s, she campaigned against court-ordered treatment of pregnant women, claiming that family courts were depriving women of fundamental rights to personal autonomy and to a fair trial. .....

In Ireland, she appeared in a number of cases in the Four Courts in Dublin, notably concerning the home birth midwife Ann Kelly during 1997–2000, but also vulnerable adults.

..... Coroner William Morris gave a verdict of gross negligence manslaughter, and made 11 Recommendations to the Department of Health to improve out-of-hours GP services. The Times profiled Hewson as its Lawyer of the Week on 11 February 2010.

Affiliations

She had been a trustee of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service since 2007. She was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Westminster in 2012. She was a founder-member of the Association of Women Barristers (AWB) in 1991. The same year, Hewson was elected to the Bar Council of England & Wales. As Press Officer for the AWB, she became known for commenting on a range of issues concerning women and the law in national media.

Views

Hewson was long opposed to state paternalism in the field of medical decision-making, and strongly supported patient autonomy. ..... She was a critic of Operation Yewtree.