HealthLawProf Blog

Editor: Katharine Van Tassel
Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Adverse Trends in Data Ethics: The AI Bill of Rights and Human Subjects Protections

Robin Throne (Western Governors University), Adverse Trends in Data Ethics: The AI Bill of Rights and Human Subjects Protections (2022):

For institutional review boards (IRBs) and human research protection programs (HRPPs) specifically, the ubiquity of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data mining (DM) within research today have created various and significant challenges for protections of human subjects and human subjects data, including personally identifiable information, in research regulated by U.S. federal agencies. This article presents an analysis of the Blueprint for the AI Bill of Rights released in September 2022 by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in the context of human subjects research and PII to address the mounting data ethical issues surrounding AI, ML, and DM, and the implications for IRBs and HRPPs for the protection of human subjects data.

December 7, 2022 | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Major Questions Quartet

Mila Sohoni (University of San Diego), The Major Questions Quartet, 136 Harv. L. Rev. 262 (2022):

This Case Comment, prepared at the invitation of the Harvard Law Review for its annual Supreme Court issue, describes and evaluates the “major questions quartet”: the CDC eviction moratorium case, the OSHA vaccine mandate case, the CMS vaccine mandate case, and the EPA Clean Power Plan case. Because none of these cases reached a constitutional holding, they are overshadowed by the Term’s blockbuster decisions involving fundamental rights. But no one should mistake these cases for anything but what they are: separation of powers cases in the guise of disputes over statutory interpretation.

December 7, 2022 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Research on Human Embryos – Do We Need a Reset?

Barbara Pfeffer Billauer (Institute of World Politics), Research on Human Embryos – Do We Need a Reset?, Genetic Literacy Project (2022):

For the last four decades, scientists, world-over, imposed a moratorium on themselves from doing research on embryos over 14 days old. Until recently, that self-imposed restriction was academic- we didn’t have the technology to keep these embryos alive longer. But that’s changed. And now some scientists are clamoring to extend the research window. This article explores the reasons for and against extending the 14 day rule, from a legal and bioethical perspective.

December 7, 2022 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lifting the Veil Over the Legal Architecture on Abortion in India: A Critical Legal Analysis

Riya Goel (Independent), Lifting the Veil Over the Legal Architecture on Abortion in India: A Critical Legal Analysis (2022):

Women have been fighting the struggle for reproductive rights for centuries. Women Reproductive Rights and Abortion rights are a global issues. The ability to reproduce has been given to women, and this ability differentiates women from men. In the early 1970s women did not have choice for whether, when, and how many children to have in their life, the situation was so bad at that time.

Continue reading

December 7, 2022 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, December 3, 2022

After Dobbs, Are Rights for Zygotes, Embryos, and Fetuses Next?

Cynthia Soohoo (City University of New York), After Dobbs, Are Rights for Zygotes, Embryos, and Fetuses Next?, City U.N. Y.  L. Rev. Blog (2022):

Justice Alito’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey marks a watershed shift in the way that the country treats people who are pregnant versus an “unborn life.” By stripping constitutional protection from the decision to have an abortion, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization equates pregnant people’s right to control their bodies and the state’s interest in protecting prenatal life.

Continue reading

December 3, 2022 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday, December 2, 2022

Righting a Reproductive Wrong: A Statutory Tort Solution to Misrepresentation by Reproductive Tissue Providers

Yaniv Heled (Georgia State University), Hillel Y. Levin (University of Georgia), Timothy D. Lytton (Georgia State University), Liza Vertinsky (University of Maryland), Righting a Reproductive Wrong: A Statutory Tort Solution to Misrepresentation by Reproductive Tissue Providers, 60 Hous. L. Rev. (2022):

Fraud, misrepresentation, and other unfair trade practices plague the market for human reproductive tissue. The sale of sperm, eggs, and embryos is virtually unregulated in almost all states, and courts have been inhospitable to victims. As a result, children are born with genetic disorders that impose extreme financial and personal hardship. Proposals for direct government oversight have, for the most part, failed to gain traction, and litigation has yielded inadequate remedies. This Article assesses these problems and proposes model legislation that would eliminate doctrinal obstacles to holding unscrupulous reproductive tissue providers liable. By making it easier for parents to bring tort claims, we aim to jump-start more effective government oversight and industry self-regulation. The proposed legislation is also responsive to political dynamics surrounding the abortion debate and, thus, stands a better chance of adoption than have prior proposals.

December 2, 2022 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Privacy in Discovery After Dobbs

Allyson Haynes Stuart (Charleston School of Law), Privacy in Discovery After Dobbs, Va. J.L. & Tech. (2022):

Modern discovery in civil courts has been criticized for its overbreadth and expense, leading to a series of changes in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure focused on proportionality. At the same time, there has been increasing interest in privacy in civil discovery, given the rise in litigants’ requests for broad production of social media, cell phone data, and wearable technology. Aside from other compelling reasons to establish privacy bounds for discovery, there are two developments, both deriving from the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Dobbs, that make this issue crucial. First, by overruling Roe v. Wade, Dobbs deals a blow to the constitutional right to privacy, which protects against unfettered discovery. Second, with legislatures across the country rushing to criminalize abortion, women and those who support them face threats that discovery will be used to uncover evidence that they have violated those laws.

Continue reading

December 2, 2022 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Right to Health in Bangladesh in the Situation of Post Natural Calamities: An Analytical Overview

Nazmul Islam Chowdhury (Independent), Right to Health in Bangladesh in the Situation of Post Natural Calamities: An Analytical Overview (2022):

Right health or access to health treatment is a fundamental human right of every citizen of every state, and even if there are any communities who are stateless, it is a moral obligation of the world community of civilized nations to ensure measures for addressing their health treatment necessity properly. Article 18 of the Constitution of Bangladesh provides provision by setting up guidelines for the state to take necessary step for improving the public health, which is to be considered as one of the primary duties of the state. Being a developing country, Bangladesh doesn’t have adequate infrastructure and workforce to provide standard and proper health services to its people. Bangladesh is a natural disaster-prone country and in the aftermath of these natural disaster situation of already insufficient health treatment becomes more critical. This qualitative study will try to find out the availability and accessibility of health and medical treatment services in the aftermath of the natural disaster. The major aspect of this study will be the scenario of flood and cyclone affected areas of Bangladesh, two of the most devastating natural calamities Bangladesh faces every year on two fronts.

December 2, 2022 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Malnutrition of Tribal Population: Stigma on Humanity, Disgraceful for Constitutional Mandate and Violation of Human Rights

Vijaykumar Shrikrushna Chowbe (Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University), Anjula Shrikrushna Chowbe (Sandip University), Malnutrition of Tribal Population: Stigma on Humanity, Disgraceful for Constitutional Mandate and Violation of Human Rights (2022):

Although malnutrition is widespread and often neglected by the legal system, it frequently affects how the constitution has been carried out. It dramatically brings up significant issues from perspective of both constitution and human rights. Therefore, in light of the foregoing it is possible to assert that malnutrition is a stain on mankind. Specially, the tribal population, which is granted precedence over the resource and is said to be the indigenous population. However, the sad reality is that their predicament in a democratic country is unimaginable. The constitutional requirement to give them the recognition they deserve for their position in India must be taken into consideration as it is already too late, and overdue.

December 2, 2022 | Permalink | Comments (0)