Digital Commons Network^™

School Vaccination Requirements: Historical, Social, And Legal Perspectives, James G. Hodge Jr., Lawrence O. Gostin

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Bioterrorism, Public Health, And International Law, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Does Technological Enhancement Of Human Traits Threaten Human Equality And Democracy?, Michael H. Shapiro

San Diego Law Review

This Article outlines some of the moral, legal, and general policy difficulties that societies and individuals will face if technological enhancements via germ line and somatic mechanisms become possible. It identifies and analyzes some of the conceptual structures necessary to explain the nature of these difficulties, suggests some alternative basic scenarios—such as greater or lesser scarcity of technological enhancement resources, impacts on how we perceive each other, and different remediation patterns—and then maps and reverse maps the projected technological developments against the value and legal structures. This Article also describes and comments on what may seem to be, from our …

Protecting The Endangered Human: Toward An International Treaty Prohibiting Cloning And Inheritable Alterations, George J. Annas, Lori B. Andrews, Rosario M. Isasi

Faculty Scholarship

We humans tend to worry first about our own happiness, then about our families, then about our communities. In times of great stress, such as war or natural disaster, we may focus temporarily on our country but we rarely think about Earth as a whole or the human species as a whole. This narrow perspective, perhaps best exemplified by the American consumer, has led to the environmental degradation of our planet, a grossly widening gap in living standards between rich and poor people and nations and a scientific research agenda that focuses almost exclusively on the needs and desires of …

Bioterrorism, Public Health, And Civil Liberties, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

The prospect of having to deal with a bioterrorist attack, especially one involving smallpox, has local, state, and federal officials rightly concerned. Before September 11, most procedures for dealing with a bioterrorist attack against the United States were based on fiction. Former President Bill Clinton became engaged in the bioterrorism issue in 1997, after reading Richard Preston's novel The Cobra Event. In Tom Clancy's 1996 Executive Orders, the United States is attacked by terrorists using a strain of Ebola virus that is transmissible through the air. To contain the epidemic, the President declares a state of emergency, orders that …

Introduction To Written Symposium On Public Health And International Law, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Emergency Preparedness From A Health Perspective: Preparing For Bioterrorism At The Federal, State, And Local Levels, Robin J. Strongin

National Health Policy Forum

Despite the good intentions prior to and in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the existence of significant gaps in the country's preparedness became increasingly clear in the weeks that followed. This background paper provides an overview of the state of bioterrorism preparedness at all levels of government, identifying both the gaps and the steps being taken to close them. A series of reference materials, including a suggested reading list and Web site addresses, are listed at the end of the paper.

Mission Possible? Maintaining The Safety Net In Urban And Rural Colorado, Karen Matherlee

National Health Policy Forum

This site visit examined urban safety-net concerns in Denver and rural safety-net issues in three communities in the eastern part of Colorado. The Denver segment featured Denver Health, an integrated health system that provides a continuum of services to diverse vulnerable populations. It explored delivery and financing issues for the system itself and in relation to payers, providers, and consumers (particularly through Community Voices) in its catchment area. The eastern Colorado segment focused on delivery and financing issues in Rocky Ford (community health center/migrant health services concerns), Limon (certified rural health center topics), and Hugo (critical-access hospital matters). The visit …

Health Care, Technology And Federalism, Kevin Outterson

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal Issues In Hiv/Aids Prevention And Treatment In The Russian Federation – Summary And Conclusions Of The Boston University Hiv/Aids Project, Wendy K. Mariner

Faculty Scholarship

The Russia Federation faces an urgent need to control the spread of HIV. Although infection has been concentrated primarily among high risk groups so far, the risk that it will spread rapidly throughout the general population is growing daily. Controlling the HIV epidemic requires leadership and strategies that are somewhat different from traditional infectious disease control models because there is no vaccine yet available to prevent disease and people spread infection by engaging in activities that are hidden from public view and not susceptible to simple prohibitions.

Boston University conducted several studies as part of USAID’s HIV/AIDS Strategy to assist …

Public Health Law In South Africa, By Sundrasagaran Nadasen, Obijiofor Aginam

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

No abstract provided.

Confronting Disease In A Global Arena, Lauren Z. Asher

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note argues that the global surge in infectious diseases necessitates the integration of human rights principles into international law to ensure effective and equitable responses to public health crises. It emphasizes the critical role of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Health Regulations (IHR) in addressing these challenges, while highlighting the need for stronger enforcement mechanisms, standardized funding, and universal adherence to health standards. The analysis underscores the importance of balancing public health measures with individual rights, particularly in areas such as quarantine, privacy, and mandatory treatment.

The Role Of Law In Russian Health Reform: Report To The United States Agency For International Development, Wendy K. Mariner, Frank G. Feeley

Faculty Scholarship

True reform necessarily entails new law. In the newly independent Russian Federation, law has played a formative role in efforts to reform the health care system. Both historically and structurally, the health care system in Russia is more dependent on legal authorization than that in most Western industrialized countries. Reforms that providers might institute independently elsewhere are not likely to happen in Russia without specific laws authorizing them. Policy makers often formulate the substance of policy in the context of developing legislation, instead of drafting legislation to codify settled policy decisions. Thus, identifying and developing suitable laws has become an …

Paradox On The High Seas: Evasive Standards Of Medical Care - Duty Without Standards Of Care; A Call For The International Regulation Of Maritime Healthcare Aboard Ships, 34 J. Marshall L. Rev. 751 (2001), Thomas A. Gionis

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Application Of Universal Human Rights Law To People With Mental Disabilities, Debra Benko, Brittany Benowitz

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Public Health Versus Civil Liberties: Washington State Imposes Hiv Surveillance And Strikes The Proper Balance, Robin Sheridan

Seattle University Law Review

The article examines the controversy surrounding the Washington HIV surveillance system in light of a long-standing conflict between public health concerns and civil liberties. 7 Part I of the article briefly describes the inception of the AIDS epidemic. Part II focuses on AIDS legislation and the justifications for surveillance. Part III discusses the tension between public health and civil liberties. Part IV describes AIDS’s social stigmatization and deterrence. Part V addresses the nature of medical information and the potential for government misuse. Part VI describes the types of HIV surveillance available and the benefits and burdens which accompany both tracking …

Book Review: Public Health Law: New Century, New Challenges, New Answers, James G. Hodge, Jr.

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Placebos In Clinical Trials: Responsible Research Or Unethical Practice?, Sharona Hoffman

Faculty Publications

Developments in medical research have been occurring at a rapidly increasing rate during the past two decades. Expanding budgets, augmented computer capabilities, and new research tools have all dramatically enhanced research technology. Accompanying the proliferation of medical research are increasing concerns about research risks. This article focuses on placebo-controlled clinical trials. The use of placebos enables clinical investigators to compare results from subjects taking an experimental intervention to results from a group that is receiving an inactive substance, such as a sugar pill, in order to determine the efficacy of the new medication. In recent years, some surgeons have also …

Freedom Fading: On Dementia, Best Interests, And Public Safety, Bruce Jennings

Georgia Law Review

Having Alzheimer's Disease does not make a person evil, but it does sometimes cause behavior that poses a danger to the person with dementia or to others. On what grounds can we justify overriding and restricting the liberty of a person with dementia? How far should such restrictions go? Who should authorize them and who should carry them out, and under what theory? Given that all behavior carries some degree of risk, what level of risk is acceptable? What should society tolerate as a part of the back- ground conditions within which most people conduct their lives? To what level …

Harm Reduction In The Health Care System: The Legality Of Prescribing And Dispensing Syringes To Drug Users, Scott Burris, Peter Lurie, Mitzi Ng

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Ethical Issues In Prescribing And Dispensing Syringes To Injection Drug Users, Zita Lazzarini

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

No abstract provided.

The Genesis Of Syringe Prescription To Prevent Hiv In Rhode Island, Josiah D. Rich, Michelle Mckenzie, Grace Macalino, Valgerdur Runnarsdottir

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

No abstract provided.

Public Health Theory And Practice In The Constitutional Design, Lawrence O. Gostin

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

No abstract provided.

The Strict Ohio Supreme Court Decision In Biddle: Third Party Law Firm Held Liable For Inducing Disclosure Of Medical Information , Kimberly Rathbone

Journal of Law and Health

Victims of unauthorized disclosures of medical information have enjoyed strict protection by state and federal courts. This is because secrecy is considered a sacred requirement in order to foster honesty and cooperation between a physician and patient. Confidentiality is considered such a vital ingredient to the physician-patient relationship by the medical profession that it is addressed in the oath, which is a prerequisite to admittance into the field of medicine: "All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or outside of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not be spread abroad, …

Public Health, Ethics, And Human Rights: A Tribute To The Late Jonathan Mann, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The late Jonathan Mann famously theorized that public health, ethics, and human rights are complementary fields motivated by the paramount value of human well-being. He felt that people could not be healthy if governments did not respect their rights and dignity as well as engage in health policies guided by sound ethical values. Nor could people have their rights and dignity if they were not healthy. Mann and his colleagues argued that public health and human rights are integrally connected: Human rights violations adversely affect the community's health, coercive public health policies violate human rights, and advancement of human rights …

Book Review. Gostin On Public Health Law, David P. Fidler

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Handling Cases Of Willful Exposure Through Hiv Partner Counseling And Referral Services, Lawrence O. Gostin, James G. Hodge Jr.

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Cases of willful exposure reveal the existing and future risks to the public health (especially women) which may be presented by individuals who willfully expose others to HIV through unsafe sexual or needle-sharing behaviors. In response to a documented case of willful exposure, a PCRS counselor or other public health official may, in his or her professional judgment, decide to act to avert a legitimate public health threat to known or unknown persons in the community. Yet handling such cases raises difficult issues in law, ethics, and public health practice. Public health authorities may be unable or ill-equipped to successfully …

Hiv/Aids And Human Rights In Russia: Compliance And The Rule Of Law, William F. Flanagan

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article examines Russia’s legal response to its ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Russia’s international human rights obligations are reviewed and the article then critically assesses the extent to which Russia’s current HIV/AIDS law and practice are consistent with those obligations. The paper demonstrates that most aspects of Russia’s HIV/AIDS laws are consistent with Russia’s international obligations. However, the paper also documents key parts of HIV/AIDS practice in Russia that are seriously inconsistent with both Russian HIV/AIDS law and Russia’s international human rights obligations. This inconsistency between HIV-related de jure norms and de facto practice raises the question of compliance with the …

Making Clinical Trials Safer For Human Subjects, Michael S. Baram

Faculty Scholarship

Clinical trials, in which new biotech and other medical products are tested on human subjects, provide much of the data used by the FDA to determine whether the products are suitable for routine use in health care. Thus, the trials are of obvious importance to medical progress and improvement of public health, and to those who have career and financial interests at stake. But clinical trials are also important to the human subjects involved because the products being tested on them may remedy their illnesses, but may also pose risks since the products have usually not been previously tested on …

Health Care, Technology And Federalism, Kevin Outterson

Faculty Scholarship

The regulation of health care has traditionally been the province of the states, most often grounded in the police power. In Colonial times, this division of responsibility was a rational response to the technological level of the eighteenth century, although even in the youth of the Republic some health and safety regulation required national and international action. With the growth of distancecompression technology, the increase in mobility of goods and services, and a significant federal financial role in health care, the grip of the police power on the regulation of health care has been weakened. Discussion of the police power …