Substantial Shifts in Supreme Court Health Law Jurisprudence

Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 320, No. 14, 1431.

3 Pages Posted: 4 Oct 2018 Last revised: 5 Dec 2019

See all articles by Lawrence O. Gostin

Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown University - Law Center - O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law

James G. Hodge

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Date Written: October 9, 2018

Abstract

President Trump’s nomination of jurist Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court presents significant, potential changes on health law and policy issues. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kavanaugh’s approaches as a federal appellate court judge and scholar could literally shift the Court’s balance on consequential health policies. Judge Kavanaugh has disavowed broad discretion for federal agency authorities, cast significant doubts on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, and narrowly interpreted reproductive rights (most notably abortion services). He has supported gun rights pursuant to the Second Amendment beyond U.S. Supreme Court recent interpretations. His varying positions related to consumer protections, environmental regulation, and antidiscrimination protections lend further to major concerns on the maintenance of settled positions of the Court on these and other critical health issues.

Keywords: health care, health law, supreme court

Suggested Citation

Gostin, Lawrence O. and Hodge, James G., Substantial Shifts in Supreme Court Health Law Jurisprudence (October 9, 2018). Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 320, No. 14, 1431., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3248406

Lawrence O. Gostin (Contact Author)

Georgetown University - Law Center - O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law ( email )

600 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States
202-662-9038 (Phone)
202-662-9055 (Fax)

James G. Hodge

Arizona State University (ASU) - Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law ( email )

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
111 E. Taylor Street, MC 9520
Phoenix, AZ 85004-4467
United States
480-727-8576 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://https://law.asu.edu/degree-programs/public-health-law-policy

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
11
Abstract Views
984
PlumX Metrics