Constitutional Issues in Health Law
The Supreme Court's recent decision upholding the major provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has brought new attention to the intersection between constitutional law and health care. This seminar gives students the opportunity to engage deeply with some of the most compelling constitutional issues of our time, including the use of federal spending powers to expand state Medicaid programs; the health insurance mandate as a regulation of interstate commerce; federalism conflicts in the medicalization of marijuana; medical providers' free speech rights; compelled commercial speech in the tobacco industry; religious objections to controversial medical procedures; cruel and unusual medical treatment of prisoners; as well as substantive due process challenges relating to public health, end of life care, and reproductive autonomy.