Event Description Neuroscience is playing a key role in legal decisions about children and young adults serving life sentences. The US Supreme Court relied upon research on adolescent brain development to bar execution and limit sentences of Life Without Possibility of Parole for crimes committed under age 18. However, the U.S. Supreme Court case Jones v….
Event Description As the U.S. Supreme Court reversed half a century of jurisprudence in Dobbs, rejecting a fundamental right to abortion, courts across Latin America have made progress in the opposite direction. A so-called “Green Wave” has swept across some of the most populous countries in a region that was formerly known for having the…
Event Description There have been many supported theories as to whether and how psychedelics and plant medicines can further our perception and understanding of identity. However, we still see systemic issues that disproportionately affect BIPOC folks within the psychedelic community and therapeutic field, which has deep historical roots in the United States. Why are psychedelics…
Learn more about the FDA’s emergency response to issues such as COVID-19, monkeypox, and infant formula. On September 20th, we hosted a discussion of these topics and more with FDA Principal Deputy Chief Counsel Mark Raza in conversation with PFC Faculty Director, I. Glenn Cohen. Panelists This event was sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law…
Event Description The COVID-19 pandemic has reinvigorated the national and global conversation about disrupting the panic-neglect cycle in public health. It has also shown us that no single sector can do this alone—for instance, the rapid delivery of mRNA vaccines and the establishment of large-scale, end-to-end testing infrastructure for COVID-19 were products of private-sector innovation…
Event Description The Supreme Court decision for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has shocked the country. The United States is now living in a post-Roe world, and the right to abortion has lost its constitutional protection. In this discussion, we analyzed this landmark decision, its underpinnings, and its impacts for abortion and other areas of law. Audience…
Diagnosing in the Home: The Ethical, Legal, and Regulatory Challenges and Opportunities of Digital Diagnostics and Therapeutics Outside of Traditional Clinical Settings Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, health care delivery was already shifting away from the clinic and into the home, utilizing telehealth, wearable sensors, ambient surveillance, and other products. The COVID-19 pandemic has…
Event Description After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is flagging support for many of the public health interventions designed to help control the virus. The Biden Administration has struggled to secure additional funding for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests. Most states and municipalities have rolled back their mask mandates, as well as testing…
Event Description Advances in the scientific understanding of addiction have important implications for treatment, policy, and the law. In this panel, Eden Evins, M.D. discussed addiction neuroscience, prognosis, and treatment. Stephanie Tabashneck, Psy.D., J.D. then led a discussion on the role of addiction science in judicial and legal decision making at the intersection of science…
Event Description The leak of a draft opinion for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has shocked the country. The leak is an unprecedented violation of Supreme Court procedure. More importantly, should the finalized opinion hew closely to the leaked draft the right to abortion will lose its current constitutional protection. We hosted a townhall…
