The connection between medical law and medical ethics is revealing. It might be thought that the two would be closely linked. After all, courts would be unlikely to make an order that requires a healthcare professional to act in an unethical manner. Furthermore, the law often relies on terms such as "reasonable" or "fair," which inevitably raise questions of moral judgment.

When the law does this, the line between a legal rule and an ethical one becomes blurred. However, it would be incorrect to assume that law and ethics perfectly align. For instance, something may be unethical but not illegal. Being discourteous to a patient may be unethical, but it would not necessarily be illegal. The law sets down minimally acceptable standards, while ethical approaches may involve determining the ideal behavior for a person. Similarly, something may lead to a legal sanction without being unethical.

For example, according to section 44(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, a doctor is required to report any incidents of human trafficking to the relevant authorities. In rare cases, a doctor may believe that reporting such incidents would be contrary to the best interests of a patient and thus unethical, but the legal obligation would still apply.