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Adherence to the Request Criterion in Jurisdictions Where Assisted Dying Is Lawful? A Review of the Criteria and Evidence in the Netherlands, Belgium, Oregon, and Switzerland
Some form of assisted dying (voluntary euthanasia and/or assisted suicide) is lawful in the Netherlands, Belgium, Oregon, and Switzerland. In order to be lawful in these jurisdictions, a valid request must precede the provision of assistance to die. Non‐adherence to the criteria for valid requests for assisted dying may be a trigger for civil and/or criminal liability, as well as disciplinary sanctions where the assistor is a medical professional. In this article, we review the criteria and evidence in respect of requests for assisted dying in the Netherlands, Belgium, Oregon, and Switzerland, with the aim of establishin...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Penney Lewis, Isra Black Tags: Independents Source Type: research

The Right to Language
We argue for the existence of a state constitutional legal right to language. Our purpose here is to develop a legal framework for protecting the civil rights of the deaf child, with the ultimate goal of calling for legislation that requires all levels of government to fund programs for deaf children and their families to learn a fully accessible language: a sign language. (Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics)
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Tom Humphries, Raja Kushalnagar, Gaurav Mathur, Donna Jo Napoli, Carol Padden, Christian Rathmann, Scott Smith Tags: Independents Source Type: research

Another Look at the Legal and Ethical Consequences of Pharmacological Memory Dampening: The Case of Sexual Assault
Research on the use of propranolol as a pharmacological memory dampening treatment for post‐traumatic stress disorder is continuing and justifies a second look at the legal and ethical issues raised in the past. We summarize the general ethical and legal issues raised in the literature so far, and we select two for in‐depth reconsideration. We address the concern that a traumatized witness may be less effective in a prosecution emerging from the traumatic event after memory dampening treatment. We analyze this issue in relation to sexual assault, where the suggestion that corroborating evidence may remedy any memory de...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Jennifer A. Chandler, Alexandra Mogyoros, Tristana Martin Rubio, Eric Racine Tags: Independents Source Type: research

Supporting Second Victims of Patient Safety Events: Shouldn't These Communications Be Covered by Legal Privilege?
We examined the laws governing the admissibility of these communications in 5 states, and address how the laws might affect participation in programs designed to support health care workers involved in adverse events. We found that privilege is uneven from stateto‐ state, and also unclear. Ambiguity alone could have a chilling effect on Second Victim programs. We propose legislation to protect volunteer and health care worker communications provided by peer counselors, or failing this, updating of statutory provisions to explicitly include these communications within the ambit of existing protections. Enhancing protectio...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Mélanie E. de Wit, Clifford M. Marks, Jeffrey P. Natterman, Albert W. Wu Tags: Independents Source Type: research

The Ethics of Intellectual Property Rights in an Era of Globalization
Since the 1980s, developed countries, led by the United States and the countries of the European Union, have sought to incorporate intellectual property rights provisions into global trade agreements. These countries successfully negotiated the World Trade Organization's 1994 Agreement on Trade‐Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which required developing countries to adopt intellectual property provisions comparable to developed countries. In this manuscript, we review the policy controversy surrounding TRIPS and examine the two main ethical arguments articulated in its support — a theory of natur...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Aakash Kaushik Shah, Jonathan Warsh, Aaron S. Kesselheim Tags: Independents Source Type: research

Subversive Subjects: Rule‐Breaking and Deception in Clinical Trials
Research subjects do not always conform to research requirements. When their personal interests conflict with the demands of participation, some subjects surreptitiously break the rules. These subjects are subversive — they undermine the research endeavor. In rejecting the restrictions research imposes, subversive subjects diminish the value of research results. From one vantage point, subversive subjects engage in unethical behavior. They create risks to themselves and others; they also disregard ethical responsibilities to adhere to research agreements and tell the truth. At the same time, subversive subjects expose et...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Rebecca Dresser Tags: Independents Source Type: research

Disability, “Being Unhealthy,” and Rights to Health
Often advocates for persons with disabilities strongly object to the claim that disability essentially involves a decrement in health. Yet, it is a mystery why anyone with an impairment would ever deny, or feel uncomfortable being told that, their impairment is at bottom a health problem. In this paper, I investigate the conceptual linkages between health and disability, relying on robust conceptualizations of both notions, and conclude it makes no conceptual sense to insist that a person can be seriously impaired yet still be, or become, “perfectly healthy.” But that cannot be the end of it since this kind of error is...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Jerome Bickenbach Tags: Symposium Articles Source Type: research

Expanding the Horizons of Disability Law in India: A Study from a Human Rights Perspective
Disabled/“differently abled” persons by virtue of being human have the right to enjoy human rights to life, liberty, equality, security, and dignity. However, due to social indifference, psychological barriers, a limited definition of “disability” entitling protection of law, and a lack of proper data, disabled persons in India remain an invisible category. Although several laws exit to ensure their full and effective participation in society, they remain insufficient as they are primarily based on the government's discretion. At the same time, whenever the judiciary finds an opportunity, it acts as a real protecto...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Tushti Chopra Tags: Symposium Articles Source Type: research

Supported Decision‐Making and Personal Autonomy for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities: Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The objective of this paper is to show conceptually the connection between supported decisionmaking and the preservation of personal autonomy for persons with intellectual disabilities. This paper discusses supported decision‐making based on Bach and Kerzner's model: (a) legally independent status, (b) supported decision‐ making status, and (c) facilitated decision‐making status. Arguments will be made based on John Stuart Mill's concept of autonomy and arguments against it using Sarah Conly's argument for paternalism. (Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics)
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Nandini Devi Tags: Symposium Articles Source Type: research

Human Rights, Civil Rights: Prescribing Disability Discrimination Prevention in Packaging Essential Health Benefits
This article explores rights‐based approaches to protecting disabled people against inequities in access to health care services. Understanding health care as a human right, as is found in the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), fails to provide theoretical machinery for responding to certain pressing challenges. An alternative account, understanding health care as a civil right, proves more promising. This latter approach then is applied to the right to health care under the U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA), which contains provisions that could be antithetical to, and thus fail to comply with, ...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Anita Silvers, Leslie Francis Tags: Symposium Articles Source Type: research

Disability and Capability: Exploring the Usefulness of Martha Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach for the UN Disability Rights Convention
I explore the usefulness of Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach in regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The CRPD aims at empowering people with disabilities by granting them a number of civil and political, but also economic, social and cultural rights. Implementing the CRPD will clearly be politically challenging and also very expensive for states. Thus, questions might arise as to whether the requirements set in the CRPD can be justified from an ethical perspective. I will first investigate if Nussbaum's capabilities approach provides support for the rights claimed in the CRP...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: Caroline Harnacke Tags: Symposium Articles Source Type: research

Is Inclusive Education a Human Right?
In this article, I question the general idea that inclusive education — i.e., to teach all students in one class — is a moral human right. The following discussion shows that the widespread view in disability studies that there is a moral human right to inclusive education can be reasonably called into question by virtue of the proposed counter arguments, but without denying that inclusive education is of utmost importance. Practically speaking, the legal human right to inclusive education is of great practical value for impaired students, and for their basic right to be free from discrimination in education, since the...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - January 21, 2014 Category: Medical Law Authors: John‐Stewart Gordon Tags: Symposium Articles Source Type: research

Introduction
(Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics)
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - December 1, 2013 Category: Medical Law Authors: John‐Stewart Gordon, Jerome Bickenbach Tags: Symposium Articles Source Type: research

Calendar of Events
(Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics)
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - October 1, 2013 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Major Trends in Public Health Law and Practice: A Network National Report
Since its inception in September 2010, the Network for Public Health Law has responded to hundreds of public health legal technical assistance claims from around the country. Based on a review of these data, a series of major trends in public health practice and the law are analyzed, including issues concerning: the Affordable Care Act, tobacco control, emergency legal preparedness, health information privacy, food policy, vaccination, drug overdose prevention, sports injury law, public health accreditation, and maternal breastfeeding. These and other emerging themes in public health law demonstrate the essential role of l...
Source: The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics - October 1, 2013 Category: Medical Law Authors: James G. Hodge, Leila Barraza, Jennifer Bernstein, Courtney Chu, Veda Collmer, Corey Davis, Megan M. Griest, Monica S. Hammer, Jill Krueger, Kerri McGowan Lowrey, Daniel G. Orenstein Source Type: research