Topics in Disability and Public Health Law
Topics that sit squarely at the intersections of disability and public health have long created thorny problems in the law. The COVID-19 pandemic brought many unresolved tensions into renewed focus with consequences that rippled across areas of doctrine, from challenges to workplace vaccine mandates to long COVID’s inclusion in disability rights law. At the center of these dilemmas is how the law addresses encounters between parties asserting overlapping or competing rights and interests, such as patients seeking care and the healthcare professionals who provide it. This seminar asks students to examine how the law has intensified, structured, or alleviated such conflicts.
Using the historical and contemporary regulation of HIV/AIDS as a case study, among select other examples, students will analyze persistent tensions in disability law, public health law, and bioethics. Students will engage with federal regulations, judicial decisions, legislation and legislative history, as well as legal scholarship. Topics include the law’s treatment of communicable disease, occupational health and safety, and patient confidentiality.
The aim of this course is not only to familiarize students with specific, persisting dilemmas at the intersection of disability and public health, but also to encourage students to think more broadly and creatively across different areas of doctrine. Students who plan to work in disability rights advocacy, patient’s rights advocacy, healthcare administration, or public health administrative law may find it of particular interest. However, no prior coursework in disability law or health law is required, as the seminar will introduce or review relevant foundational doctrine as needed. Grades will be based on regular participation, as well as a substantial paper.