Law Commons^™

Conundrums With Penumbras: The Right To Privacy Encompasses Non-Gamete Providers Who Create Preembryos With The Intent To Become Parents, Lainie M.C. Dillon

Washington Law Review

To date, five state high courts have resolved disputes over frozen preembryos. These disputes arose during divorce proceedings between couples who had previously used assisted reproduction and cryopreserved excess preembryos. In each case, one spouse wished to have the preembryos destroyed, while the other wanted to be able to use or donate them in the future. The parties in these cases invoked the constitutional right to privacy to argue for dispositional control over the preembryos; two of the five cases were resolved by relying on this right. The constitutional right to privacy protects intimate decisions involving procreation, marriage, and family …

Toward A More Communitarian Future? Fukuyama As The Fundamentalist Secular Humanist, June Carbone

Michigan Law Review

With The End of History and the Last Man, Francis Fukuyama established himself as the prophet of liberal democracy and free markets, heralding their triumph as the only form of governance capable of commanding legitimacy. Asked to reflect on his predictions a decade later, Fukuyama concluded that the greatest threat to liberalism comes from biotechnology because it alone has the potential to remake the human nature that liberal democracy was designed to serve. Fukuyama makes a compelling case that biotechnology may produce developments that should concern us; he is ironically less persuasive in articulating a liberal-democratic framework for governing the …

Toward A Policy Agenda On Medical Research Funding, Robert Field, Barbara Plager, Rebecca Baranowski, Mary Anne Healy, Margaret Longacre

Robert I. Field

No abstract provided.

The U.S. Health Workforce: Definitions, Dollars, And Dilemmas, Karen Matherlee

National Health Policy Forum

This background paper provides a comprehensive view of the structure of the health workforce. It explores public and private insurance coverage and payment policies, as well as discretionary grant programs, that govern it. The paper also looks at health workforce concerns: supplies of certain types of physicians, health workforce mix, challenges from complementary and alternative medicine, shortages of nurses and pharmacists (and some other practitioners), maldistribution issues, and lack of diversity in response to demographic changes. It presents proposals that are on the table to reform the health workforce, at a time when it is demanding greater attention from health …

Reauthorizing Head Start: The Future Federal Role In Preschool Programs For The Poor, Jane Koppelman

National Health Policy Forum

This paper describes the implications of President Bush’s proposal to devolve authority for running the Head Start program to the states and to alter the organization and funding of all government early childhood programs—with the goal of improving the school readiness skills of low-income children. The administration plan to allow states to mix Head Start funds with state-funded preschool money and, if desired, child care monies to create a more uniform early childhood care system with an educational focus raises numerous questions. This paper addresses questions raised by this plan, including the potential quality of these new systems, the extent …

Physician Liability And Managed Care: A Philosophical Perspective, Dionne L. Koller

All Faculty Scholarship

Despite the emergence of managed health care and the resulting dramatic change in the role of the third-party payer in the physician-patient relationship, the liability standards applied to physicians largely have remained unchanged. This has created a tension between physicians' legal and ethical obligations, and the requirements imposed on the physician by managed health care. Specifically, the issue confronts the physician in the context of malpractice liability. Managed Care Organizations impose a significant amount of control over the way physicians practice medicine, often forcing physicians to ration care. Notwithstanding any beneficial cost savings that might result, this approach subjects the …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Spring 2003

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Pressing Precaution Beyond The Point Of Cost-Justification, Gregory C. Keating

Vanderbilt Law Review

Years ago, Bruce Ackerman contrasted two competing perspectives on law, that of the "ordinary observer" and that of the "scientific policymaker."' The perceptions and discourse of the "ordinary observer," Ackerman explained, start from the common practices and language of laymen. The "scientific policymaker" takes the realization of particular objectives-efficient precaution against risks of accidental injury and death, for example-as her end and uses the law as an instrument toward that end. Clashes between these two perspectives are endemic to our legal culture. Nowhere in the law of accidents is that conflict sharper than in cases where the risks imposed threaten …

Tobacco Regulation Review, V. 2, No. 1, April 2003

Tobacco Regulation Review

No abstract provided.

Reforming Civil Rights With Systems Reform: Health Care Disparities, Translation Services, & Safe Harbors, Sidney D. Watson

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Commentary: Racial Disparities In Health Care, Timothy S. Jost

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Bodily Integrity And Informed Choice In Times Of War And Terror, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

Law is the dominant force behind American medical ethics, and has been for at least the past half-century. That ' lawyers and judges, rather than physicians, have set the agenda for medical ethics in the United States is a bit surprising to many in the field of medical ethics, but it should not be. Medicine has historically been based on paternalism. The Hippocratic physician was obligated to act in the best interests of the patient-as the physician judged those interests-and to "do no harm." American law, on the other hand, is based on liberty and justice, principles that, among other …

Against A Federal Patients' Bill Of Rights, Edward A. Zelinsky

Faculty Articles

The failure of the 107th Congress to pass a "Patients' Bill of Rights" (PBR) is widely considered a major disappointment, to be remedied in the 108th Congress by the adoption of such legislation. Indeed, federal PBR proposals have achieved the proverbial motherhood-and-apple-pie status; it is virtually impossible to find anyone actively opposing a federal PBR. Many members of the 108th Congress likely feel pressure to pass PBR legislation before returning to the electorate in 2004.

I advance a contrary perspective: A federal PBR is an idea whose time is past or, to be precise, is an idea whose rationales are …

A Matter Of Priority: Transplanting Organs Preferentially To Registered Donors, Adam Kolber

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Correctional Mental Health Law And Policy: A Primer, Fred Cohen

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Protecting Parolees Under The Ada And Rehab Act, Giovanna Shay

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Louisa Van Wezel Schwartz Symposium On Mental Health Issues In Correctional Institutions. Symposium Introduction, H. Russell Cort, Arlene L. Robinson

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Monitoring The Quality And Utilization Of Mental Health Services In Correctional Facilities, Clarence J. Sundram

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Explosive growth in the population of seriously mentally ill inmates in prisons has created new demands for mental health services. Increased public expenditures for such services require increased accountability. This article identifies essential elements of an adequate system of mental health care in a correctional environment. It describes the common areas of vulnerability when the adequacy of correctional mental health services is challenged in court. It proffers several arguments in favor of a proactive program of monitoring the adequacy of mental health services in correctional facilities. Finally, the paper suggests specific areas and methods for monitoring both by internal quality …

Mental Health And Incarceration: What A Bad Combination, Olinda Moyd

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

The District of Columbia has one of the highest per capita incarceration and criminal justice supervision rates in the United States1 and among the highest in the world. The local prison population has risen dramatically over the past decade for a variety of reasons including increased rates of re-incarceration for parole violations and the imposition of longer sentences for drug offenses. Recent acts of Congress have seriously impacted the sentencing laws in the District including determination of where persons sentenced for violating local D.C. laws will serve such sentences. On August 5, 1997, President Clinton signed into law The National …

Criminalization Of People With Mental Illnesses: The Role Of Mental Health Courts In System Reform, Robert Bernstein, Tammy Seltzer

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Suicide In Jails And Prisons: What The Numbers Tell Us, Karen L. Cropsey

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Suicide is often the most common cause of death in correctional settings across the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a report stating that suicide "is a public health problem that demands our attention."' Across the world, one suicide attempt is made every three seconds, with one completed suicide every minute. More people die across the world from suicide than by armed conflict. The risk factors for suicide include being a young or elderly male, being indigenous, being an individual with a mental illness or substance abuse history, and being incarcerated or in custody. Further, individuals who have …

Is Community Care A Civil Right? The Unfolding Saga Of The Olmstead Decision, Randy Desonia

National Health Policy Forum

This paper lays the groundwork for understanding the implications of the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Olmstead v. L.C., which has far-reaching consequences for the long-term care of people with disabilities. The paper reviews the critical components influencing the case: the Medicaid program’s role in funding community-based long-term care; the Americans with Disabilities Act, which serves as the statutory basis for the decision; and the Court’s legal reasoning. The paper also describes the federal and state responses to the ruling and concludes with a brief discussion of some legal issues that will be debated in the …

Who Will Pay For The Adverse Events Resulting From Smallpox Vaccination? Liability And Compensation Issues, Robin J. Strongin, Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

This paper summarizes liability and compensation concerns surrounding the smallpox vaccination program announced by President Bush on December 13, 2002. The paper examines the nature of adverse health events that are likely to occur in connection with the smallpox vaccine, assesses the liability protections that have been established for organizations and individuals participating in the vaccination program, and discusses the compensation mechanisms being considered to address the damages incurred by volunteers who may suffer from adverse vaccine reactions. Specifically, the implications of the Federal Tort Claims Act, workers’ compensation programs, and the creation of a new no-fault compensation fund are …

Killing For The State: The Darkest Side Of American Nursing, Dave Holmes, Cary H. Federman

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The aim of this article is to bring to the attention of the international nursing community the discrepancy between a pervasive ‘caring’ nursing discourse and the most unethical nursing practice in the United States. In this article, we present a duality: the conflict in American prisons between nursing ethics and the killing machinery. The US penal system is a setting in which trained healthcare personnel practices the extermination of life. We look upon the sanitization of death work as an application of healthcare professionals’ skills and knowledge and their appropriation by the state to serve its ends. A review of …

Can't We All Get Along? The Case For A Workable Patent Model, Srividhya Ragavan

Faculty Scholarship

The global move towards a trade regime has been impeded by challenges of poverty and health crisis for the developing nations. Until now, the developed nations have touted the establishment of a trade regime as envisaged under TRIPS as the solution for the national challenges. This paper examines the effectiveness of TRIPS as a mechanism to move towards a trade regime. It argues that the patent policy in TRIPS cannot gear the world towards patent harmonization but can potentially adversely impact the developed nations and the post-world war trade structure. The impediments affecting the effectiveness of TRIPS as a harmonizing …

Drug Regulations And The Constitution After Western States, Margaret Gilhooley

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Achieving The Right Balance In Oversight Of Physician Opioid Prescribing For Pain: The Role Of State Medical Boards, Diane E. Hoffmann, Anita J. Tarzian

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ethical, Legal, And Social Issues In Genetic Testing For Complex Genetic Diseases (With E. Zuiker), Lori B. Andrews

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Reasonable Modification Or Fundamental Alteration? Recent Developments In Ada Caselaw And Implications For Behavioral Health Policy, Sara J. Rosenbaum, Joel B. Teitelbaum, D. Richard Mauery, Alexandra M. Stewart

Center for Integrated Behavioral Health Policy

No abstract provided.

Medi-Cal Funded Induced Abortions 2001, Department Of Health Services

California Agencies

This report provides summary data on the number of fee-for-service Medi-Cal funded abortions performed during 2001, the type of facility where a procedure was performed, and Medi-Cal expenditures for these procedures. Only abortion claims received and processed for date-of-service January through December 2001 are included in this report. The term fee-for-service (FFS) used throughout this report refers to these claims. The data are presented at both county and state levels. Estimates of abortions for enrollees in Health Care Plans (HCP) are included since encounter data are not yet available. A distribution by county is provided.