By Nadia N. Sawicki The tragic case of Marlise Munoz is finally at an end, now that John Peter Smith Hospital has, pursuant to an order by Judge R. H. Wallace, Jr., taken Ms. Munoz off life support and released her body to her family. A few questions about the media’s role in this case linger…
By Michelle Meyer I’m sorry to report that Adrienne Asch, director of the Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University and the Edward and Robin Milstein Professor of Bioethics, died yesterday of cancer. A social psychologist by training (but no relation to Solomon Asch), Professor Asch’s scholarly focus was the ethical, legal, and social implications of human reproduction,…
By I. Glenn Cohen In a week where most of the health law news has been, shall we say, less than hopeful for those of us who like the idea of robust health insurance expansion, as the Washington Blade reports there was one bright spot for progressive health policy: The House and Senate passed the HOPE (HIV…
By Jeremy Kreisberg A little over two weeks ago, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a rather obscure ERISA case—Heimsehoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co. The case asks a rather basic question without a readily apparent answer: when a beneficiary of an ERISA-regulated insurance plan seeks to claim benefits, may the statute…
By The Petrie-Flom Center Harvard Law School Project on Disability 2013 Open House Special Guest Speaker Justice Albie Sachs Constitutional Court of South Africa, Human Rights Activist Introduction by Dean Martha Minow Ames Courtroom Thursday, October 17, 2013, 5:00pm Co–sponsored by International Legal Studies. Light refreshments will be served.
By Nathaniel Counts The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and related statutes and regulations creates a cause of action that allows children and young adults with disabilities to be able to participate equally in public schools and universities. “Disability” can include behavioral and other mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive…
By Michele Goodwin Anthony Stokes, a fifteen year old kid from Decatur County, Georgia, is expected to die in a matter of months, according to his doctors at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Maybe, they say, he will live for six months. Who knows? Anthony suffers from an enlarged, increasingly less functional heart. His condition…
By Michele Goodwin Less than an hour ago, Indianapolis prosecutor, Mr. Terry Curry agreed to drop first degree murder charges against Bei Bei Shuai in an agreement that required her to plead to a misdemeanor. The case was a month away from trial in what would have been the first prosecution of a pregnant woman…
By Leslie Francis A case from the employment discrimination world that might be of interest to health law folks is EEOC v. Houston Funding II, Ltd., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 10933 (May 30, 2013). The employee in the case, Donnicia Venters, was told that her position had been filled when she returned to work post…
By Holly Fernandez Lynch Given my recent piece in the New England Journal on discrimination against patients, particularly obese patients in the context of the Americans with Disabilities Act, I found this NY Times story particularly interesting: Disability and Discrimination at the Doctor’s Office. The Times story focuses on patients who are disabled in more traditional…
