Law Commons^™

Exploitation Of The Elite: A Case For Physician Unionization, Dionne L. Koller

All Faculty Scholarship

Our intuition tells us that physicians are elites, and therefore they cannot be exploited. Relying on this intuition, we adopt policies which attempt to provide a health care system that gives first-quality care, at the lowest prices, delivered through a “free-market” system. As the key gatekeepers to health care, physicians are thus caught in the middle. Top-notch American health care costs money and for-profit MCOs must watch their bottom line. Rationing, therefore, is key. The issue is, assuming we have decided that free-market health care is the solution, how much should physicians have to sacrifice in the name of the …

Government As God: An Update On Federal Intervention In The Treatment Of Critically Ill Newborns, Dionne L. Koller

All Faculty Scholarship

Whether a severely impaired or critically ill infant should receive lifesaving, and sometimes extraordinary, medical treatment, or be allowed to die, is hotly debated. The issue initially garnered public attention in 1982, when an infant who was born with Down's Syndrome, “Baby Doe,” was allowed to die from a correctable birth defect. Following this, the federal government took a lead role in determining the fate of critically ill newborns. In the meantime, doctors, philosophers, and others have debated whether federal interference in this area is appropriate.

This essay will bring the reader up to date on the “Baby Doe” issue …