Lecture 5: Legal and Ethical Issues

Question 1

Legal Definitions

Answer 1

-Proposals to amend constitution require:
2/3 majority vote in both the house and senate or constitutional convention
-an Amendment becomes part of the constitution once ratified by 3/4 of states (38/50)
-Statutes (laws enacted by federal or state)
-Code (compilation of laws, so every code is a statute that includes more than one law. ex. penal or civil codes)
-Regulatory agencies (have the authority to issue regulations that carry the force of the law)
-Common laws (judge-made law based off of lawsuits)
-Ordinances (laws enacted by county and municipal governments via specific powers granted to them by the state)
-Resolution (formal legislative document that expresses an opinion, it has no binding effect of law)

Question 2

Ammendments we discussed

Answer 2

• Amendment IV
• Amendment V
• Amendment XIV

Question 3

Statutes affecting privacy, confidentiality or security

Answer 3

-Freedom of Info Act (FOIA)
-Privacy Act of 1974
-Family educational rights and privacy act of 1974 (FERPA)
-HIPAA (only permits disclosures which are required by law to be disclosed and those which are authorized to be disclosed)
-E-government act of 2002
-

Question 4

Whalen vs. Roe decison

Answer 4

The record does not establish an invasion of any right or liberty

Question 5

Doe vs. city of ny

Answer 5

doe won against city because they issued a press release about his HIV case and so this identified him

Question 6

powell v. schriver

Answer 6

disclosure of transexual status was actionable

Question 7

Matson v. NYCBOE

Answer 7

no right of confidentiality for information about fibromyalgia

Question 8

Principles of Bioethics

Answer 8

• Beneficence (maxmize benefits and inflict no harm, so in abiding by this, surveillance activities promote health to maximize benefits and protect private information to minimize harms))
• Respect for persons (autonomy: just note that surveillance activities generally occur without individual consent and are paternalistic in nature)
• Justice (distribute burden and benefit equally)

Question 9

Trigger events for why human subjects need protection

Answer 9

• Nazi experiments
• tuskegee
• milgram obedience study

Question 10

Guiding principles to distinguish PH research from practice

Answer 10

• general legal authority
• specific intent
• responsibility
• participant benefits
• experimentation
• subject selection

Question 11

Non-research vs. research surveillance

Answer 11

• Non-research (diabetes surveillance report)

- Research (a sentinel surveillance system for Lassa Fever in the republic of guinea)