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The Two Most Important Questions For Ethical Public Health, John Coggon, Lawrence O. Gostin
The Two Most Important Questions For Ethical Public Health, John Coggon, Lawrence O. Gostin
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Public health ethics is a distinct and established field, and it is important that its approaches and rationales are understood widely in the public health community. Such understanding includes the capacity to identify and combine principled and practical concerns in public health. In this paper, we present a background to the ideas that motivate public health ethics as a field of research and practice, and rationalize these through a critical ethico-legal approach to analysis. Two essential points of inquiry are identified and formulated to allow philosophical and practical agendas regarding public health to be combined. These come through asking the …
The “Conscience” Rule: How Will It Affect Patients’ Access To Health Services?, Lawrence O. Gostin
The “Conscience” Rule: How Will It Affect Patients’ Access To Health Services?, Lawrence O. Gostin
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
On May 2, 2019, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released a final rule that heightens the rights of hospitals and health workers to refuse to participate in patients’ medical care based on religious or moral grounds. The rule covers OCR’s authority to investigate and enforce violations of 25 federal “conscience protection” laws. Tied to the US Constitution’s spending power, the rule applies to state and local governments, as well as public and private health care professionals and entities if they receive federal funds such as Medicare or Medicaid. The rule …
Supervised Injection Facilities: Legal And Policy Reforms, Lawrence O. Gostin, James G. Hodge, Chelsea L. Gulinson
Supervised Injection Facilities: Legal And Policy Reforms, Lawrence O. Gostin, James G. Hodge, Chelsea L. Gulinson
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 70 000 deaths from drug overdoses occurred in 2017, including prescription and illicit opioids, representing a 6-fold increase since 1999. Innovative harm-reduction solutions are imperative. Supervised injection facilities (SIFs) create safe places for drug injection, including overdose prevention, counseling, and treatment referral services. Supervised injection facilities neither provide illicit drugs nor do their personnel inject users. Supervised injection facilities are effective in reducing drug-related mortality, morbidity, and needle-borne infections. Yet their lawfulness remains uncertain. The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently threatened criminal prosecution for SIF operators, medical personnel, …