|
|
Network Report
Thursday, November 17, 2022
|
|
|
The 2023 Public Health Law Conference will bring together public health officials, administrators and practitioners; lawyers; researchers; leaders of community-based organizations and others to examine the systems that create barriers to equitable health outcomes. More than 40 sessions will address core issues related to: structural inequities in health outcomes; reproductive health equity; public health data use to advance health equity; the role of law in facilitating system change; and emerging issues impacting structural change. Call for abstracts opening soon – watch for an announcement!
|
|
|
|
|
Q&A: Strengthening Public Health Advocacy
In light of the current climate of eroding trust and falling investments in public health, a critical question has emerged: How do we strengthen public health advocacy at local, state, and national levels? In this Q&A, the authors of the study, Fighting for Public Health: Findings, Opportunities, and Next Steps from a Feasibility Study to Strengthen Public Health Advocacy discuss the myriad tensions surfaced by public health leaders interviewed for the study, and opportunities for a way forward.
|
|
|
|
|
Policy Approaches for Improving Housing Affordability and Availability
Families that need to allocate more household resources to rent or mortgage payments are often unable to meet other essential needs or invest in their health and wellbeing. Intervention to improve the affordability of housing is crucial to address the sharp rises in housing costs and comparably slower wage growth. Fortunately, government officials and non-profit organizations have a variety of effective policies and programs aimed at making housing more accessible and affordable.
|
|
|
|
|
Cultural Healing: A New (Old) Paradigm for Creating Healthy Communities
In the debate about how to incorporate cultural differences (which are often deeply intertwined with racial identity) into dominant social structures to create just outcomes, cultural healing often receives little attention. Cultural healing reconnects people to the vibrancy and strengths of their culture and in doing so, enhances health and wellness. However, embedding cultural healing practices will require legal reforms that institutionalize culturally inclusive practices.
|
|
|
|
|
Law and Policy Pathways to Addressing the Epidemic of Drug-Related Harm
Most of the epidemic levels of drug related harm currently occurring in the U.S. could be prevented by expanding existing interventions, removing barriers to effective care, and making legal changes to eliminate the criminalization of drug use. This guide outlines key law and policy measures that, if taken, would significantly advance efforts to reduce drug related harm in the U.S.
|
|
|
|
|
Federal Privacy Laws
This collection provides an overview of the basic legal requirements of different federal data protection laws to help public health professionals and researchers understand how different federal laws might apply to a proposed data activity. They also provide links to full text versions of the law and other federal resources.
|
|
|
|
|
“I Want to Say ‘Yes,’ But…”— A Webinar for Lawyers Advising Data-Sharing Efforts
November 30, 2022 | 1 – 2:30 p.m. EST
Often, a data-sharing project doesn’t come to an attorney’s attention until the attorney is asked to draft or review a data sharing agreement. By then, the project proponents are invested in the project’s success, making it difficult to then advise them that the law does not permit sharing the data. But might it? Could you help recraft the data sharing plan to fit within the constraints of the law? We invite you to a webinar for lawyers by lawyers who have navigated these data-sharing waters.
|
|
|
|
|
Reproductive Health and Data in a Post-Roe World
December 7, 2022 | 1 – 2:30 p.m. EST
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization upended 50 years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent protecting reproductive rights. Since the decision, significant state-level activity has impacted reproductive health care access, expanding access in some states and curtailing it in others. Considerable concern has arisen regarding the privacy of reproductive health records and data, especially regarding law enforcement access to records in states adverse to abortion rights. Join us for a discussion of the emerging legal landscape following this landmark decision, potential remaining legal pathways to health care access, and implications for reproductive health data privacy and data sharing.
|
|
|
Abortion Bans Threatening Pregnant Patients’ Lives Are Unconstitutional
James Hodge Jr., director of the Network’s Western Region Office and Network attorneys Jennifer Piatt, and Erica N. White are among the co-authors of this article published by the Harvard Petrie Flom Center Bill of Health in which they argue that to the extent highly restrictive, amorphous, and indeterminate abortion bans contravene physician implementation of life-saving interventions for pregnant patients — and thus infringe upon the Fourteenth Amendment’s protection of the right to life — they are unconstitutional.
|
Federalism’s Fallacy at the Forefront of Public Health Law
James Hodge Jr., director of the Network’s Western Region Office, co-authored this article, published in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, noting that amid the changing conceptions of federalism its central constitutional role emerges: protecting American liberties against unwarranted governmental intrusions. The authors argue that to the extent that federalism is used as a guise for withdrawing fundamental rights to abortion by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, individual rights are sacrificed in violation of constitutional structural norms.
|
COVID Consequences: The Future of Emergency Powers in Public Health
Thursday, December 15, 2022 | 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. Central time
The COVID-19 pandemic created a public health emergency. In response, state and federal authorities took a range of steps to control infections and deaths, including instituting crisis standards of care, calling for masking, and requiring vaccination or testing. These measures prompted reactions from gratitude to anger, and also motivated litigation and legislation. Have these responses to government efforts to control the pandemic impacted our ability to manage subsequent public health concerns, such as RSV and influenza (now surging, especially in children)? This webinar will bring together national experts to discuss the future of public health powers, the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how to rebuild trust in public health institutions in communities across the country.
|
|
|
Legal Fellow, Harm Reduction Legal Project
The Network is seeking a legal fellow to support the Network’s Harm Reduction Legal Project. This is a one-year, grant-funded position. Under the direction of the Legal Project Director, the fellow will conduct research and assessment of laws and policies, provide consultation on best practices, and give strategic guidance to individuals and organizations working to create, expand, and defend harm reduction programs in the United States. This position is expected to be fully remote. View the full description and apply here.
|
Senior Attorney, Health and Racial Equity Focus
The Network is seeking a Public Health Senior Attorney to help advance its health and racial equity work. While the position will work on a wide variety of public health law topics, it will primarily focus on addressing health and racial equity through law and policy. Projects may include research and analysis of racism and other forms of structural discrimination in law and policy, as well as strategies, frameworks, and tools that can be used or implemented by partners engaged in health and racial equity work. This position is expected to be fully remote. View the full description and apply here.
|
Senior Attorney, Reproductive Health
The Network is seeking a Public Health Senior Attorney to lead and coordinate our expanding work in reproductive health, coordinating work across the Network’s five Region Offices. This position will track and assess laws, provide legal technical assistance, conduct training, develop tools and educational materials, and facilitate opportunities for networking and peer assistance. The successful candidate will have excellent legal research, writing, and public speaking skills, excellent organizational skills, a demonstrated commitment to health equity and social justice, and the ability to create and maintain partnerships and collaborative relationships with a wide variety of individuals and communities. View the full description and apply here.
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
