Health Law and Policy Commons^™

Science-Related Rhetoric And Action By United States Presidents From 1977-2017, Amanda E. Shea

Interdisciplinary Studies

Presidential rhetoric and executive action have played an important role in shaping how scientific issues are presented to the American public. This project examined how United States presidents from Jimmy Carter through Barack Obama (1977–2017) employed science-related rhetoric and policy regarding climate science and reproductive health. Findings suggest that reproductive health remained a partisan issue throughout the study period, while climate science shifted from a largely bipartisan concern to a more partisan one over time. The results also indicate that presidential rhetoric and executive action were not always aligned, with several administrations using science-related rhetoric more extensively than corresponding policy.

The Martha Wright-Reed Act: How The Fcc Took One Step Forward For Communication Equality For Deaf Individuals In Correctional Facilities And How It Could Be Expanded, Ashley Seebold

Seattle University Law Review

For decades, phone companies preyed on incarcerated individuals and their loved ones due to the lack of regulation of jail phone calls.2 In 2021, the average cost of a fifteen-minute jail phone call was about $3.3 In 2022, the average cost rose to $5.74, while some individuals faced an extreme charge of $24.82 for the same amount of time.4 In the early 2000s, consumer advocate and concerned grandmother Martha Wright-Reed called upon the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fix the imbalance so she could speak to her incarcerated grandson.5 Eventually, in 2023, the FCC answered her call to action and …

Dentistry And The Law: The Need To Designate A Patient Of Record, Daniel Schulte Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This legal column addresses the legality of delegating dental procedures to hygienists before a dentist has examined the patient. Author Dan Schulte clarifies that under Michigan’s Administrative Code, procedures may only be delegated if the individual is a "patient of record". This status requires a dentist to have personally performed an evaluation and diagnosis within the previous 24 months. Consequently, seeing new patients for cleanings or X-rays before a dentist's involvement is non-compliant with state law.

J Mich Dent Assoc June 2026

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Each month, the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association delivers news, information, and features about Michigan dentistry to our state's oral health community and the MDA's 6,200-plus members. It remains the main publication reaching Michigan dentists and is available worldwide through ADA Commons.

The June 2026 (Volume 108, No. 6) issue of the Journal is published in digital format to provide updates and insights for Michigan's oral health community and MDA members. Print editions occur every other month beginning with January.

The June 2026 issue of the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association provides association updates, legal advice, and clinical …

Reflections And Revisionism: Rethinking The U.S. Response To Covid-19, Wendy E. Parmet

Michigan Law Review

A review of In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us. By Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee.

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Volume 49 Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 49 Masthead

Reimagining Legal Education: The Transformative Power Of Small-Group Instruction, Michael I. Meyerson

Seattle University Law Review

Legal education is failing its students. Those entering their first year of law school have greater anxiety and less developed reading and writing skills than ever before. The traditional large Socratic class, which was never the most effective teaching method, has become increasingly counterproductive.

This Article contends that small-group instruction provides the opportunity for superior teaching, especially for first-year law students. Recent scholarship in active learning, educational psychology, and students’ mental health demonstrates the limitations of the traditional large Socratic class experience. Building on that theoretical foundation and informed by sustained classroom experience, this Article argues that small-group pedagogy more …

The Preventative Care Gap: Completing The Aca’S Vision For Health, Abby Nagaich

Seattle University Law Review

This Note examines the preventive care mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the legal, political, and practical challenges that threaten its effectiveness. While the ACA significantly expanded access to no-cost preventive services, gaps remain—particularly in behavioral health, obesity management, and equitable service delivery. Ongoing litigation, potential administrative rollbacks, and shifting political leadership further destabilize this critical component of public health policy.

This Note argues that for the ACA to fulfill its original promise—and for any health framework to succeed—preventive care must be redefined as a comprehensive, early intervention approach grounded in both systemic access and patient education. It …

Land Without Legacy: The Case For Market-Based Appraisals On Hawaiian Home Lands, Alexis C. Owens

Seattle University Law Review

The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 (HHCA) was enacted to restore Native Hawaiians to ancestral lands and promote long term economic self-sufficiency. More than a century later, that promise remains unfulfilled. This Note argues that a central but overlooked barrier lies in the HHCA’s mandated use of the replacement cost appraisal method, which systematically undervalues homestead properties by excluding market forces. In one of the most expensive housing markets in the United States, this approach suppresses home equity, the primary means of intergenerational wealth building, and restricts beneficiaries’ access to credit and financial stability. By severing the connection between …

International Law’S Forgotten Refugees—Palestinian Refugees In Egypt

Seattle University Law Review

This Article examines the legal and humanitarian crisis facing Palestinian refugees who have fled to Egypt amidst the ongoing violence in Gaza. While escaping active conflict, these refugees face systemic barriers to employment and education, rendering their living conditions precarious and unsustainable. The unique legal status of Palestinian refugees stems from the fact that they have been excluded from the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, leaving them without any meaningful international protection. This exclusion is rooted in the political complexities of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination and reflects a fragmented legal framework that prioritizes limited humanitarian aid over …

How The Dod Discourages Military Families From Seeking Mental Health Counseling, Christina Welch

Seattle University Law Review

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) administration of the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) presents significant barriers to mental health care access for military spouses and children. This paper explores how the EFMP, though designed to support military families with special needs, inadvertently creates barriers to mental health treatment. Military family members often do not seek mental health treatment to avoid the program's mandatory enrollment requirements. Military family members often view enrollment in the program undesirable because enrollment can restrict the pool of potential future duty assignment locations that are available to service members.

The lack of comprehensive data collection by …

Optimizing Vitamin A Intervention: Strengthening Supplementation With Targeted Biscuit Fortification, Mayfa Yemima Simanjuntak, Nadia Amanda, Yuli Berliana Simanjuntak, Carissa Wityadarda, Lesta Livolina Simamora

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) remains a persistent public health challenge in Indonesia, particularly among children under five and breastfeeding mothers. This study aimed to analyze the distribution of vitamin A interventions and assess the potential of biscuit fortification as a complementary strategy. This study employs a literature review using the Health Policy Triangle (HPT) framework, examining policy context, content, key actors, and implementation processes related to vitamin A interventions. The analysis was conducted using secondary data from government reports, international agencies, and peer-reviewed literature published between 2018 and 2025, with comparative evidence from Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Ghana. The findings show …

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, Inc. V. State Ex Rel. Office Of The Nevada Attorney General (Civil), 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 40 (May 28, 2026), Charnel Gibson

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Nevada’s parental notification abortion statute is likely unconstitutionally vague because it fails to provide physicians with adequate notice of the conduct required and permits arbitrary enforcement.

Avoiding Pandora’S Box: Why Federal Nondiscrimination Statutes Do Not Prohibit Health Insurance Coverage Exclusions Of Sex-Rejecting Procedures, Rachel N. Morrison

Catholic University Law Review

There is increasing litigation over whether employer-provided health insurance and state Medicaid plans can exclude coverage of procedures for “gender transitions.” Plaintiffs claim that gender-transition coverage exclusions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and federal nondiscrimination statutes. While Fourteenth Amendment claims should be foreclosed by the Supreme Court’s holding in Geduldig v. Aiello, nondiscrimination claims require a separate analysis.

This article shows the proper analysis for whether coverage exclusions of transition procedures violate federal nondiscrimination statutes. Looking to the history of coverage exclusion claims, Part I traces sex and pregnancy discrimination claims challenging coverage exclusions of …

"Market Shift Liability" For Generic Drugs: Market Share Theory's Eccentric New Cousin, Lars Noah

Texas A&M Law Review

Market share liability, which permits allocating proportional responsibility to each tortious member of an industry when victims cannot identify the exact source of their injurious exposure, enjoyed its judicial heyday in the 1980s. It originated in the peculiar setting of litigation over a distinctive cancer that developed decades after in utero exposure to the drug diethylstilbestrol (“DES”), which a few hundred companies had produced and sold for the prevention of miscarriages before federal regulators withdrew it from the marketplace. Although judges have occasionally attempted novel extensions of this theory to other products, and academic commentators remain fascinated by its use, …

Regulating Beauty: Advertising Restrictions, The First Amendment, And The Rise Of Social Media Models, Annie Miner

BYU Law Review

Unrealistic beauty standards in advertising have long raised concerns about their effects on body image and eating disorders, particularly for young women. While traditional means of advertising often use extremely thin models and digitally altered images, the shift in the advertising landscape towards an increased use of social media presents new challenges. Influencers have largely replaced models in advertising, and they often present unrealistic beauty standards, altered images, or dangerous eating and exercise habits to their young, impressionable audiences. In response to these concerns, several countries, including France, Norway, and Israel, have adopted regulations banning the use of ultrathin models …

Liberty In Death? An Analysis Of The Ethics And Laws Regarding Physician-Assisted Suicide, Ross Leavitt

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

I seek to analyze physician-assisted suicide with the following two goals in mind: (1) Evaluating how ethical and legal arguments surrounding suicide developed throughout history and how they inform our understanding today; (2) What a regulatory scheme governing physician-assisted suicide looks like and if it can adequately safeguard the interests of the individual and the collective.

Uninformed Consent: Legal Failures In The Treatment Of Female Patients, Eva Zagarzhevskaya

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

Surgeries are a common practice globally, with 51.4 million procedures performed in the United States alone. [1] Going in for a procedure typically has a variety of risks involved such as shock, wound infection, or a bad reaction to anesthesia. [2] However, a risk no patient should have to consider is the risk of an alternative exam being performed on them without their knowledge or consent during surgery. Yet, there is no federal statute preventing this practice. Rather, in 34% of US states, doctors do not need their patient’s consent to have medical students and other doctors perform invasive exams …

Cybersecurity Disparities In U.S. Healthcare: Regulatory Gaps, Equity Failures, And Systemic Risks, Erica Patterson

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

U.S. healthcare relies on digital infrastructure that now shapes clinical safety. However, the governing law remains a patchwork. The HIPAA Security and Breach Notification Rules, layered with uneven federal and state mandates and voluntary frameworks, do not yield a clear, enforceable floor of protection for small, rural  hospitals which are institutions with thin budgets, legacy systems, limited vendor leverage, and scarce IT staff. This Article identifies the gap, namely that minimum safeguards are not articulated as testable outcomes that low-resource providers can implement and sustain, and offers a remedy. Using doctrinal analysis and comparative assessment of federal and state regimes …