Law Commons^™

The Duty Of Treatment: Human Rights And The Hiv/Aids Pandemic, Noah B. Novogrodsky

Noah B Novogrodsky

This article argues that the treatment of HIV and AIDS is spawning a juridical, advocacy and enforcement revolution. The intersection of AIDS and human rights was once characterized almost exclusively by anti-discrimination and destigmatization efforts. Today, human rights advocates are demanding life-saving treatment and convincing courts and legislatures to make states pay for it. Using a comparative Constitutional law methodology that places domestic courts at the center of the struggle for HIV treatment, this article shows how the provision of AIDS medications is reframing the right to health and the implementation of socio-economic rights. First, it locates an emerging right …

On Breaking Patents: Separating Strands Of Fact From Fiction Under Trips, Cynthia M. Ho

Cynthia M Ho

This article provides the first comprehensive analysis of when compulsory licensing of patents is permissible as a matter of international law under the Agreement of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). Thailand’s recent compulsory licenses of patents on a variety of medications provide a convenient vehicle to analyze the limits of compulsory licensing under TRIPS. Thailand’s actions are unique; most countries hesitate to issue compulsory licenses in the wake of legal uncertainties regarding TRIPS requirements as well as political pressure. This article capitalizes on the many issues involved in Thailand’s licenses to provide an authoritative interpretation of the scope of …

Plain Language Patents, Robin C. Feldman

Robin C Feldman

Law is a process of Bounded Adaptation. The law that exists at any given moment is constantly driven to adapt to changing circumstances within the framework of what has gone before. The boundaries of that framework are policed by the necessity of articulating an interpretation in a way that gains general acceptance. It is the need to effectively articulate a common logic that mitigates the distortion of personal perspective.

This process of Bounded Adaptation cannot proceed effectively without an adequately structured dialogue that will promote the flow of information and analysis. Nowhere is this dialogue more challenging than at the …

Comments On Liebman And Zeckhauser, Simple Humans, Complex Insurance, Subtle Subsidies, Edward J. Mccaffery

Edward J McCaffery

These are brief comments on an excellent paper by Jeffrey Liebman and Richard Zeckhauser, prepared for a conference sponsored by the Urban Institute and Brookings on tax and health care policy. Liebman and Zeckhauser summarize the complexities involved in making optimal health insurance decisions, and offer generally cautionary notes about conflating these with tax law (a theme of the conference). Most importantly, Liebman and Zeckhauser suggest a positive role for employers in health care and insurance decisions, as better setters or framers of choice sets—witness 401(k) plans. In this Commentary, I applaud Leibman and Zeckhauser’s general work and particular observation, …

Voluntary Disclosure Of Hiv/Aids Status By A Public Health Official To Law Enforcement Agents: The Shortcomings Of South Dakota's Law Section 34-22-12.1(6) And Traditional Public Health Measures, Daniel C. Moon

Daniel C Moon

Section 34-22-12.1(6) of South Dakota’s Codified Laws grants the Secretary of the Health Department to disclose private medical information regarding an individual’s HIV/AIDS status if he or she thinks that that individual is engaged in intentionally infecting another person with HIV/AIDS. This law is problematic because it does not (1) adequately protect an individual’s privacy, and (2) achieve its public health goals. From the privacy aspect, it provides less protection to information regarding an individual’s HIV/AIDS status from three aspects: (1) less protection than the same information possessed by covered entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), …

Dna Inside, Lori B. Andrews

Lori B. Andrews

Influenza Genetic Sequence Patents: Where Intellectual Property Clashes With Public Health Needs, Lori B. Andrews, Laura A. Shackelton

Lori B. Andrews

Dealing With The Realities Of Race And Ethnicity: A Bioethics-Centered Argument In Favor Of Race-Based Genetics Research, Michael J. Malinowski

Michael J. Malinowski

No abstract provided.

Regulation With Placebo Effects, Anup Malani

Anup Malani

There is a growing body of empirical evidence supporting the existence of placebo effects in medical contexts and is suggestive of nontrivial placebo effects in non-medical contexts. This paper reviews the literature on placebo effects, examines the implications for four fields of law (drug approval, informed consent law, consumer protection law, and torts) and suggests future areas for research on placebo effects. Specifically, it make the case for altering the drug approval process to account for, if not credit, placebo effects. It suggests allowing evidence of placebo effects as a defense in cases alleging violations of informed consent or false …

Law's Misguided Love Affair With Science, Robin Feldman

Robin C Feldman

The allure of science has always captivated members of the legal profession. Its siren’s song has followed us throughout much of American legal history. We look to science to rescue us from the experience of uncertainty and the discomfort of difficult legal decisions, and we are constantly disappointed.

The notion of what constitutes science and what it would take to make law more scientific varies across time. What does not vary is our constant return to the well. We are constantly seduced into believing that some new science will provide answers to law’s dilemmas, and we are constantly disappointed.

This …

Pharmacy Compounding Of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (Bhrt): A Proposed New Approach To Justify Fda Regulation Of These Prescription Drugs, Bruce Patsner

Bruce Patsner M.D., J.D.

No abstract provided.

Biomedical Research And The Law:--Embryonic Stem Cells, Clones And Genes: Science, Law, Politics, And Values, Michael J. Malinowski

Michael J. Malinowski

This article directly addresses the stem cell controversy, but also the broader history and norms regarding the roles of federal and state government in U.S. science research funding.

Universal Health Care In Massachusetts: Setting The Standard For National Reform, Mary Ann Chirba

Mary Ann Chirba

No abstract provided.