#TenYearsAgo in Health Law

Since January 2026, the #TenYearsAgo” viral trend on social media — fueled by nostalgia and rose-colored glasses (ok, filters) — has tried to remind us of the allegedly simpler times of 2016. 

But when we looked back (because of course we did) at Bill of Health in 2016 what we found, in short, was that not much seemed simple even then. And as you’ll see, everything old is – well, if not new again, at least very much still with us.

In February 2016, Michelle Goodwin wrote about the increase in numbers of incarcerated women and girls, still clearly an ongoing trend around the world 10 years later, as is the use of digital data to specifically target and criminalize pregnant women.

In June 2016, Faculty Director I. Glenn Cohen shared impressions of the SCOTUS decision in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt. Noting the decision was a victory for opponents of TRAP laws he wondered if “technocratic abortion decisions” written for lawyers rather than the public suggested the Court was feeling the need to stay above the political fray. Ten years later, abortion and the post-Dobbs legal landscape continue to provide rich material, from our 2026 annual conference on Embryo Law and Ethics to a post on whether we should regulate semen.

In November and December 2016, Rachel Sachs’ exploration of all things FDA included the pressures of the 21^st Century Cures Act and the links to insurance coverage. FDA continues to be a very hot topic 10 years later. Recent posts have addressed questions about ultra-fast review, the Trump executive order on psychedelics, and how the FDA should handle drug development assisted by AI. Other posts explored the politics of innovation and what the future might look like for FDA’s leadership. 

Clearly 2016 wasn’t all about Pokémon Go at the Petrie-Flom Center. We welcome your “throwbacks” revisiting what the past 10 years of health law policy, biotechnology, and bioethics have brought.