STAT: PUBLIC HEALTH LAW

Catalog description

Public Health Law is a complex network of statutes, regulations, policies and court decisions that govern the state's powers to identify, prevent, and ameliorate risks to the health of its population. This course examines that network, while also providing students with a set of tools to manage it, covering the principles of statutory interpretation, agency action, and judicial review of statutes and administrative actions. It considers government's responsibilities to promote and safeguard the health of the public, government's obligations to respect the rights and interests of individuals, and the inevitable tensions that arise when these goals are in conflict. The course explores the rationale for a population-based approach to health, the sources and themes of public health law and policy, the mechanisms the state uses to promote its public health goals, and the restraints on those means. Topics covered may include: control of infectious diseases (e.g., immunization policies, responses to epidemics); regulation of tobacco; strategies to reduce obesity and related chronic diseases; and the role of legislatures, agencies and courts in setting and implementing policies in these areas.