Network Report Thursday, March 25, 2021 
In honor of Women's History Month, we are highlighting select legal or policy issues affecting women’s health including: economic stability and well-being, pregnancy discrimination, and maternal depression. The law and policy solutions discussed have the potential to improve life for women and girls for generations to come. Learn more.
Announcements Our Statement on Violence Against Asian Communities and Racism as a Public Health Crisis
One Month of Executive Orders for the Biden Administration: Public Health Impact As of February 20, President Biden had issued 32 Executive Orders (EOs), several of which are intended to protect the public’s health. While the majority of the EOs use the power of the federal government to protect Americans from contracting COVID-19, there are also measures designed to strengthen U.S. public health infrastructure more broadly, and address the impact of climate change more specifically.
Moving Past Disbelief in Systemic Racism to Understand What it Means For Health Equity Since the Biden Administration released its plan to advance racial equity in the United States, there has been significant pushback against the idea that systemic racism even exists. This questioning is not new, but it has taken on a renewed fervor as state and local governments, professional associations, hospitals and health systems, and corporations have made public commitments to addressing systemic racism and treating racism as a public health crisis. 
Biden Administration Executive Orders: Public Health Impact Chart In the early months of his administration, President Biden has issued multiple executive orders (EOs), many of which directly affect public health, both broadly and with regard to specific public health crises, including the COVID pandemic and the effects of climate and extreme weather events. This table details the Biden Administration EOs that impact public health and provides a summary of each EOs’ provisions.
COVID-19 Policy Playbook: Legal Recommendations for a Safer, More Equitable Future As the United States marks one year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 50 top public health legal experts offer a new assessment of the U.S. policy response to the crisis. This new report offers policy recommendations on 35 wide-ranging topics, from strengthening pandemic preparedness and expanding health care to conducting sound elections and adapting immigration policy. Designed to advise leaders at the federal, state and local level, the report presents a timely examination of policy challenges and opportunities in light of the pandemic. 
Housing Matters: Legal and Policy Approaches to Preventing Housing Instability TODAY: 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EST | March 25, 2021 Eviction has damaging health consequences that can last lifetimes, or even generations. Families grappling with housing uncertainty experience physical and mental health challenges, from elevated rates of childhood and chronic disease and mortality, to stress, depression, anxiety and suicide. Nationwide, Black and Hispanic renters in general, and women in particular, are disproportionately threatened with eviction and disproportionately evicted from their homes. Attend this webinar to learn about state and local legal approaches to preventing eviction and its devastating public health consequences.
Legal Protections to Prevent Discrimination Against Medical Cannabis Patients 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. EST | April 8 Despite legal recognition and medical oversight, medical cannabis patients are often subjected to harmful discrimination that can impact their employment opportunities, housing options, educational opportunities, and other vital aspects of their lives. States are beginning to recognize that this discrimination is a serious public health challenge that requires legal intervention to address its harmful effects. Attend this webinar to learn about the variety of state legislative protections provided to medical cannabis patients and how medical cannabis is treated by state workers’ compensation programs.
Worth Sharing COVID’S Constitutional Conundrum: Assessing Individual Rights in Public Health Emergencies This article, published in the Tennessee Law Review, and co-authored by James Hodge, Jr., director, and Jennifer L. Piatt, senior attorney, at the Network’s Western Region Office, addresses the response of courts to the considerable legal challenges alleging infringements of constitutional rights that have arisen against governments imposing social distancing or other restrictive measures to quell the COVID-19 pandemic. The article’s authors argue that in public health emergencies, courts should engage in guided assessments focused on the execution, efficacy, and purpose of public health interventions as a constitutional prerogative instead of examining alleged rights infringements framed outside crisis contexts.
This article, published in AJPH and co-authored by Corey Davis, deputy director of the Network’s Southeastern Region Office and director of the Network’s Harm Reduction Legal Project, reports on research which shows that mandating the prescribing of naloxone for patients at increased overdose risk quickly expands access to the life-saving medication for more people in more places.
The U.S. currently has the highest rate of maternal deaths of any industrialized nation. This article from the National Health Law Program highlights those aspects of the American Rescue Plan that have the potential to significantly improve health outcomes for women who give birth, particularly during postpartum recovery.
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Thank you! Your interest in the work of the Network is important. Together, we can advance law as a tool to improve public health. Please forward the Network Report and encourage others to join the Network! The Network for Public Health Law provides information and technical assistance on issues related to public health. The legal information and assistance provided in this document does not constitute legal advice or legal representation. For legal advice, readers should consult a lawyer in their state.
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