Kenneth R. Wing

The Supreme Court's Spring Term: Abortion, the Right to Die, and the Decline of Privacy Rights

In the spring of 1990 several Supreme Court decisions were handed down that will drastically affect health policy in the US for decades. Hodgson v. Minnesota affirmed a Minnesota statute that required unemancipated minors seeking abortion to give 48-hour notice to both parents. The only exceptions are in cases of medical emergency or through a judicial bypass. Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health upheld the constitutionality of an OHio law that requires physicians to personally give a 24-hour notice or a 48-hour constructive notice by mail before performing an abortion for an unemancipated minor. A judicial bypass is also allowed in the Ohio law. Cruzan v. Missouri Department of Health affirmed the constitutionality of a state court decision to deny the family of a woman in a persistent vegetative state to discontinue her life-sustaining treatment. This decision severely changes the right to die that has previously been upheld by lower courts. The 2 abortion cases have clearly shown the court to has taken a stance that will significantly weaken the right to abortion in Roe. The Cruzan case raises many questions about the vested state interest in protecting its citizens compared to an individuals right to refuse treatment.

The emerging relevance of antitrust laws to the delivery of health care.

Until relatively recently, antitrust enforcement in the delivery of health care was virtually non-existent. Not even 15 years ago, many legal observers might have concluded that the professional services of medical care providers were exempted from the federal antitrust laws altogether; or that many providers were engaged in local activities beyond the reach of federal interstate commerce jurisdiction. Even 10 years ago, many providers were arguing that collective agreements among potential competitors were not only sound public policy, but also that such concerted activities were actively encouraged by various federal laws. Today, however, the enforcement of the federal antitrust is an integral part of the complicated legal environment of American health care delivery.