Law Commons^™

Unilateral Refusal Of Treatment And Patient Abandonment: Betancourt V. Trinitas Hospital, Brief Of Amicus Curiae, Law Professor Thaddeus Mason Pope, Thaddeus M. Pope

Thaddeus Mason Pope

Betancourt v. Tinitas Hospital is now pending before the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court. Trinitas Hospital is appealing a March 2009 trial court injunction, ordering its physicians to continue providing life-sustaining medical treatment (particularly dialysis) that these providers judged to be medically inappropriate and outside the standard of care.

In early 2009, patient Ruben Betancourt was in a permanent vegetative state with multi-organ failure and slim prospects for recovery. Still, the patient’s daughter, Jacqueline, would not accede to recommendations to stop dialysis and switch to palliative care. When it became apparent that providers might unilaterally withdraw Mr. …

Saving The Leftovers: Models For Banking Cord Blood Stem Cells, Kimberly J. Cogdell

Kimberly J Cogdell

This article draws an interesting comparison between material placed on the curb to be collected as garbage and the material (cord blood stem cells) removed during childbirth to be discarded by the hospital. The comparison is made based on the California v. Greenwood decision and deals with expectations of privacy in materials placed on the curbside as trash; search and seizure of materials obtained from a warrantless search and whether the use of this material violated the Fourth Amendment.

The use of embryonic stem cells is a highly publicized, politically-charged topic which implicates many ethical, legal and moral issues. But …

Three Ways Of Looking At A Health Law And Literature Class, Jennifer Bard

Jennifer Bard

The authors of this Article participated in a panel at the American Society of Law, Ethics & Medicine Conference in 2008 that discussed the use of literary materials in law school to teach medical ethics (and related matters) in a law school setting. Each author comes at the topic from a different perspective based on his or her own experience and background. This Article and the panel on which it was based reflect views on how literature can play a valuable role in helping law students, as well as medical students, understand important legal and ethical issues and concepts in …