By Allison M. Whelan For many years now, there has been ongoing debate about childhood vaccinations and the recent measles outbreak in Disneyland and its subsequent spread to other states has brought vaccinations and questions about communicable diseases back to the headlines. Politicians, including potential presidential candidates such as Hilary Clinton, Rand Paul, and Chris…
By Ross D. Silverman In the midst of the national discussion of measles and the state laws that foster or inhibit its spread, a curious fact has emerged, as noted recently by my JAMA co-author Tony Yang: Mississippi, dead last in the nation’s overall health rankings in 2012, 2013, and 2014, leads the nation in…
A Right to Health? A lecture by John Tasioulas Thursday, February 5, 2015 12:00 PM Wasserstein Hall, Room 3019 Harvard Law School 1589 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge, MA There have been recent calls to establish a framework convention on health grounded in the human right to health. But is there really a human right…
By Wendy Parmet Although the political debate over vaccination rages on, the legal debate is as settled as the science. Last month, in Phillips v. City of New York, the Second Circuit reaffirmed in record time what it and other courts have consistently held: states have the power to mandate that schoolchildren be vaccinated against…
By Emily Largent The 2016 Presidential race is gathering steam, and this has led me to wonder what–if any–effect the recent measles outbreak might have on campaigns. While a majority of the public holds the view that vaccinating kids is the right thing to do, a growing number of people are eschewing vaccinations. Moreover, it has been said…
By Arthur Caplan A new piece by Art Caplan on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s recent statements, via Forbes: New Jersey Governor and likely presidential candidate Chris Christie is responsible for the current measles outbreak in the United States. Well that is a bit of a stretch – but not by much. The Governor just…
A Dialogue on Agency, Responsibility, and the Brain with Stephen Morse Thursday, February 12, 2015, 12:00 PM Wasserstein Hall, 3019 Harvard Law School 1585 Massachusetts Avenue…
By Christine Baugh At yesterday’s Third Annual Health Law Year in P/Review event hosted by the Petrie-Flom Center, George Annas, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights at Boston University School of Public Health, discussed the legal and public health response to Ebola. One issue that he raised was that…
By Lauren Taylor In recognition of how little we talk about global health, I am turning my attention back to my roots for today’s post. On Jan 22nd, Bill and Melinda Gates launched their annual letter. For those readers who live fully under a domestic health policy rock, Bill and Melinda Gates are co-chairs of…
A new piece in Forbes on suing parents who don’t vaccinate, by Dan Diamond: I heard it over dinner at a friend’s house. I talked about it on a call with a scientist. I discussed it while waiting for public health officials to issue an update on the measles outbreak. The same murmured question, the…
