ABSTRACT
In a "mixed bag" 2023-2024 session, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a series of decisions both favorable and antithetical to public health and safety. Taking on tough constitutional issues implicating gun control, misinformation, and homelessness, the Court also avoided substantive reviews in favor of procedural dismissals in key cases involving reproductive rights and government censorship.
Subject(s)
Public Health , Supreme Court Decisions , United States , Humans , Public Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Firearms/legislation & jurisprudence , Ill-Housed Persons/legislation & jurisprudence , Reproductive Rights/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
A deluge of state "anti-equity" legislative bills seek to reverse prevailing trends in diversity, equity, and inclusion; withdraw protections of LGBTQ+ communities; and deny access to gender-based care for trans minors and adults. While the political and constitutional fate of these acts is undetermined, profound impacts on patients and their providers are already affecting the delivery of health care and public health services.
Subject(s)
Public Health , Humans , United States , Public Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Health Services Accessibility/legislation & jurisprudence , Sexual and Gender Minorities/legislation & jurisprudence , Delivery of Health Care/legislation & jurisprudence , Health Equity/legislation & jurisprudence , Male , Female , Transgender Persons/legislation & jurisprudenceABSTRACT
In another tumultuous term of the United States Supreme Court in 2022-2023 a series of critical cases implicate instant and forthcoming changes in multiple fronts that collectively shift the national public health law and policy environment.
Subject(s)
Public Health , Supreme Court Decisions , Humans , United States , PolicyABSTRACT
Among the morass of critical issues impacting the results of the midterm elections in 2022 were core public health issues related to health care access, justice, and reforms. Collectively, voters' communal health and safety concerns dominated outcomes in key races which may shape national, state, and local legal approaches to protecting the public's health in the modern era.
Subject(s)
Health Services Accessibility , Public Health , Humans , Social JusticeSubject(s)
COVID-19 , COVID-19/epidemiology , Emergencies , Humans , Pandemics , Public Health , Standard of CareABSTRACT
As the United States emerges from the worst public health threat it has ever experienced, the Supreme Court is poised to reconsider constitutional principles from bygone eras. Judicial proposals to roll back rights under a federalism infrastructure grounded in states' interests threaten the nation's legal fabric at a precarious time. This column explores judicial shifts in 3 key public health contexts - reproductive rights, vaccinations, and national security - and their repercussions.
Subject(s)
Public Health , Reproductive Rights , Civil Rights , Humans , Supreme Court Decisions , United States , VaccinationABSTRACT
Immunizing hundreds of millions against COVID- 19 through the most extensive national vaccine campaign ever undertaken in the United States has generated significant law and policy challenges.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Vaccines , COVID-19 Vaccines , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , United States , VaccinationABSTRACT
A series of denialist state laws thwart efficacious public health emergency response efforts despite escalating impacts of the spread of the Delta variant during the COVID-19 pandemic.