Law Commons^™

Love V. Superior Court: Mandatory Aids Testing And Prostitution, Karin Zink

Golden Gate University Law Review

The AIDS epidemic has brought one of our most fundamental constitutional rights into sharp focus in California. The relationship between the Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and the government's ability to mandate AIDS testing was the topic of a recent California case, Love v. Superior Court. In a unanimous decision the California Court of Appeal upheld section 1202.6 of the California Penal Code [hereinafter § 1202.6] mandating AIDS testing of persons convicted of soliciting an act of prostitution. The court held that the California law does not violate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable …

In Vitro Fertilization Through Egg Donation: A Prospective View Of Legal Issues, James M. Treppa

Golden Gate University Law Review

As reproductive techniques continue to advance, many legal and ethical questions surrounding the use of some of these techniques remain unanswered. One such technique is IVF through the use of egg/oocyte donation. The lack of legal or statutory parameters regarding the use of IVF egg donation is a direct consequence of judicial and legislative failure to promulgate guidelines regarding noncoital reproduction. As many judges continue to point to legislators for guidance, proposed bills stagnate at the hearing stage.

Hiv Disease: Criminal And Civil Liability For Assisted Suicide, Ann Grace Mccoy

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article first traces the evolution of attitudes and subsequent laws regarding suicide and assisted suicide. Secondly, the criminal and civil liability of assisted suicide is assessed on the basis of California case law. Lastly, this paper will discuss the applicability of the defenses of the right of privacy and the right of autonomy to acts of suicide and assisted suicide. This discussion will focus on the right of a person with HIV disease to enlist the assistance of the medical profession to make his or her death as quick and as painless as possible, a practice which under the …

Searching For Proper Judicial Recognition Of Hospital Ethics Committees In Decisions To Forego Medical Treatment, Carol A. Murphy

Golden Gate University Law Review

The issue of withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining medical treatment arises with increasing regularity in the United States, prompted by a growing elderly population and constant technological advances. A Hospital Ethics Committee (HEC) may be utilized to assist in making treatment decisions for incompetent patients, but there is inconsistency in the deference given to HECs by courts. Neither federal nor state statutes have addressed the proper role of HECs in health care decisionmaking, and common law on the subject is conflicting. This comment will explore the levels of judicial scrutiny applied to HEC decisions regarding life-sustaining medical treatment and explore the …

The American "Right" To Health Care - An Idea Whose Time Has Come?, Nancy E. Cropley

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Nursing And The Future Of Health Care: The Independent Practice Imperative, Nancy A. Hoffman

Golden Gate University Law Review

In recent years an ever increasing problem has emerged within the health care delivery system in the United States: there is a shortage of registered nurses to meet patient care needs. This shortage raises serious public policy concerns about how society will be assured of quality health care and who will provide that care in the future. An awareness of the problems that have led to the nursing shortage and exploration of alternatives to the present health care delivery system are required in order to remedy the problem. The efforts of the nursing profession to overcome the effects of the …

Civil Remedies For Therapist-Patient Sexual Exploitation, Laurie A. Morin

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article explores the clinical and legal issues raised in civil actions brought by patients against their therapists for sexual exploitation. Section II provides an overview of the various substantive theories of liability and defenses, as well as special procedural difficulties and problems of proof in sexual abuse cases. It suggests that the "consent" defense is an inappropriate analytical framework in a malpractice action based upon therapist sexual exploitation. The real dispute should center around the parameters of a therapist's duty to his patient outside of the formal therapeutic setting. Section III examines the statute of limitations problem, and suggests …

The Regulation Of Electroconvulsive Therapy In California: The Impact Of Recent Constitutional Interpretations, David Whitcomb

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article will begin with a brief description of ECT. Those less interested in the medical aspects may ignore this section. Such information could be important to an attorney, however, especially in an ECT malpractice action or other direct dealings with an ECT patient. The existing California regulatory scheme of ECT will be detailed, followed by constitutional arguments regarding the review committee, risk disclosure, and substitute consent provisions of these laws. It is the purpose of this discussion not only to provide the reader with an introduction to the California ECT laws, but to argue that such laws are a …

Elizabeth Bouvia V. Riverside Hospital: Suicide, Euthanasia, Murder: The Line Blurs, Belinda Stradley

Golden Gate University Law Review

In November 1983, the California Superior Court was presented with a question of first impression. In a case which attracted considerable media attention, Elizabeth Bouvia v. Riverside Hospital, the court was asked to decide whether it should authorize the state to assist a physically disabled person to commit suicide. This question arose after Elizabeth Bouvia, who is physically disabled, arranged for voluntary psychiatric admission to Riverside Hospital. She subsequently disclosed her intent to stop eating, and thereby die by starvation. She requested that hospital staff provide her with pain medication and hygienic care until she died. She stated that she …

Antipsychotic Drugs: Regulating Their Use In The Private Practice Of Medicine, Andrew Goode

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment will address the problems of antipsychotic drug usage in two areas in which the private practice of psychiatry is involved: nursing homes and board and care homes. Although each of these areas present an entirely different set of problems, and concern different age groups, they both serve functions which had traditionally been that of the state hospitals before deinstitutionalization - treating the chronic mentally ill. Before considering the use of antipsychotic medication in nursing homes and board and care homes, the risk of side effects as a result of these drugs will be examined. It will be shown …

The Barber Decision: A Questionable Approach To Termination Of Life-Support Systems For The Patient In A Persistent Vegetative State, Sheila Brutoco

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note will review the major cases dealing with termination of life-support systems for patients in a persistent vegetative state. Although the discussion will focus primarily on these patients, many of the issues discussed are applicable to other patients in similar situations, i.e., those who have terminal cancer. The Note will specifically relate case law from the other states to the facts and holdings of Barber, the most recent California case in this area. Finally, in light of the various legal approaches taken by California and other states regarding termination of life-support systems for these patients, this Note will propose …

Preventing The Spread Of Aids By Restricting Sexual Conduct In Gay Bathhouses: A Constitutional Analysis, Stephen L. Collier

Golden Gate University Law Review

This analysis of the state's authority to limit sexual behavior in gay bathhouses will begin by examining the precedents involving the use of quarantine and nuisance statutes to control the spread of communicable diseases. A discussion of common law limitations on the use of those statutes will follow. The constitutional analysis begins with the right to privacy embodied in the United States and California Constitutions, and its relationship to gay sexual intimacy generally. The application of rational basis and strict scrutiny standards will be analyzed and arguments presented in favor of applying strict scrutiny. The state's compelling interest in stopping …

Psychotherapists' Duty To Warn: Ten Years After Tarasoff, Leslie B. Small

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment discusses the Tarasoff decisions and subsequent cases defining the scope of the psychotherapists' duty to protect persons other than their patients. It examines the rationale behind A.B. 2900, and assesses the bill's effect upon the Tarasoff-related objections it addresses. In spite of the Governor's veto of A.B. 2900, there is a need for statutory guidelines to clearly and equitably define the scope of the psychotherapists' duty to protect. This Comment proposes a model statute that attempts to strike a favorable balance among the complex, overlapping interests of psychotherapists, patients, and the public.

Legal Resolution Of Denial Of Access To Medical Technology, Lee S. Wilkinson M.D.

Golden Gate University Law Review

The legal issues involved in technology application are inextricably interwoven with the medical issues. This Comment will first discuss the general principles of the scientific method and then contrast their application to pharmacologic therapy with their application to technologic treatments. Bone marrow transplantation will then be analyzed in depth, illustrating the medical issues that third-party payers consider in coverage decisions. Continuing with the model of bone marrow transplantation, this Comment will conclude with an analysis of legal solutions to the denial of access to medical technology.

Sindell V. Abbott Laboratories: A New Avenue For Des Litigation, Michael H. Wells

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Midwifery: A History Of Statutory Suppression, Cynthia Watchorn

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Women's Health Care And Informed Consent: Who Decides What Is Best For Women - Patients Or Doctors?, Jo Anne Morrow

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contraceptive Sterilization: The Need For State Regulation, Christine E. Motley

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Realization Right To Health In The Context Of Pharmaceutical Under International Law, Huei-Ying (Lucille) Hsu

Theses and Dissertations

Examining the problem of realizing the right to health in accessible and affordable pharmaceutical product, this dissertation begins with the legal personality of the actors involved in the realization of the right to health. Chapter 2 further explores the uniqueness of pharmaceutical products and development of the pharmaceutical industry. Chapter 3 describes the development of intellectual property protection on pharmaceutical products. Chapter 4 then focuses on the international human rights development of the right to health and discusses the relationship of the right to health to accessible and affordable pharmaceutical products. Chapter 5 describes in greater detail the responsibility and …

Racial And Ethnic Health Disparities: A Review Of Selected State Programs, California Research Bureau

California Agencies

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Federal Department Of Justice Investigation Of California State Mental Hospitals, Senate Select Committee On Developmental Disabilities And Mental Health

California Senate

Today we are going to be talking about the investigations in our state hospital system by the United States Department of Justice. In both their reviews of the children's and adult programs at Metropolitan State Hospital in Southern Califomia, as well as the more recent review in Napa State Hospital, the Department of Justice found significant and substantial deficiencies in virtually every aspect of patient care. Sadly, this is not the first time such concerns have been raised. And sadly and alarmingly, since the issuance of these reports, problems have continued, including suicides and homicide.

Additionally, as noted in the …

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.

California & The Hiv/Aids Epidemic: The State Of The State Report Through 2000, Health & Human Services Agency

California Agencies

No abstract provided.

Medi-Cal Funded Induced Abortions 2000, Department Of Health Services

California Agencies

This report provides summary data on the number of fee-for-service Medi-Cal funded abortions performed during 2000, 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 2000 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.

California & The Hiv/Aids Epidemic: The State Of The State Report 2001, Health & Human Services Agency

California Agencies

No abstract provided.

California & The Hiv/Aids Epidemic: The State Of The State Report 1999, California Department Of Health Services

California Agencies

No abstract provided.

Is There A Doctor In The House? Using Failure-To-Warn Liability To Enhance The Safety Of Online Prescribing, Chester S. Chuang

Publications

This Note argues that manufacturers can satisfy the duty to warn that is owed to consumers who purchase prescription medications from Internet prescribing sites by contractually obligating the websites to implement comprehensive patient information systems. Analyzing these systems under a traditional failure-to-warn liability framework will allow reputable sites to mature into reliable sources of prescription medications for consumers, while cutting off the supply of drugs to fraudulent sites without resorting to increased government regulation. Ideally, this framework wiIl force manufacturers to weigh patients' health and safety with the commercial and practical advantages of Internet prescribing.

Part I of this Note …

Science Fact Or Science Fiction? The Implications Of Court-Ordered Genetic Testing Under Rule 35, Anthony S. Niedwiecki

Publications

This article proposes an analysis for courts to follow when faced with a Rule 35 motion to compel a party to undergo genetic testing or any other procedure that tests for a specific medical condition.

Part I explains the analysis courts generally conduct for a Rule 35 motion. Generally, courts make a factual inquiry into whether there is a need for the procedure and whether the examinee has placed his or her physical or mental condition in controversy. Rarely have courts examined the risks associated with ordering an examination. When courts do examine the risks, they continue to show a …

Criminal Penalties For Creating A Toxic Environment: Mens Rea, Environmental Criminal Liability Standards, And The Neurotoxicity Hypothesis, Colin Crawford

Publications

Recent research in brain biochemistry examining the likely neurological effects of exposure to toxic contaminants continues to demand legal consideration. In this Article, Professor Crawford evaluates the possible consequences of recent neurobiological studies-labeled "The Neurotoxicity Hypothesis" by researchers-for lawyers and the legal system. After summarizing the research, Professor Crawford suggests that as this (or similar) neurobiological research gains increased scientific acceptance, it will be necessary to reduce dramatically the acceptable levels of these toxic elements that can be discharged into the environment. He then examines the implications of such a result for establishing criminal liability under federal environmental statutes, focusing …

California & The Hiv/Aids Epidemic: The State Of The State Report 1998, California Department Of Health Services

California Agencies

No abstract provided.