Reconsidering Law and Policy Debates
A Public Health Perspective

Examines social and political issues that have become resistant to compromise by examining them through a population-based public health perspective.

John G. Culhane (Edited by)

9781107672475, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 1 May 2014

270 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.37 kg

"John G. Culhane edits a series of critical chapters that take on some of the most polarizing and politically-defining societal problems in modern America -- abortion and other reproductive rights, euthanasia..., gay marriage, domestic violence, rights to carry guns, and spiraling tort litigation...."

The authors "develop traditional and original thinking surrounding public health impacts and evidence, applying it to complex issues where the health of populations is considered remotely, inaccurately, or not at all. The results can be powerful."

"There is considerable upside and ingenuity in the authors' attempts to recast these issues toward a communal perspective. Their goal of opening our collective minds to the need for public health parlance among some of the most sensitive issues of law and policy is laudable, responsible, and largely achieved."

- James G. Hodge, Jr.
Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics

This book approaches a variety of social and political issues that have become highly polarized and resistant to compromise by examining them through a population-based public health perspective. The topics included are some of the most contentious: abortion and reproductive rights; end-of-life issues, including the right to die and the treatment of pain; the connection between racism and poor health outcomes for African-Americans; the right of same-sex couples to marry; the toll of gun violence and how to reduce it; domestic violence and how the criminal justice model fails to deal with it effectively; and how tort compensation and punitive damages can further public health goals. People at every point along the political spectrum will find the book enlightening and informative. Written by eight authors, all of whom have cross-disciplinary expertise, this book shifts the focus away from the point of view of rights, politics, or morality and examines the effect of laws and policies from the perspective of public health and welfare.

Part I. Birth and Death: 1. Beyond privacy: a population approach to reproductive rights Wendy E. Parmet
2. Stretching the boundaries of public health: should end of life care be a public health issue? Diane E. Hoffmann
Part II. The Limits of Civil Rights: 3. Dying while black in America: Maslow's hierarchy of need and racial policy-making Vernellia Randall
4. Public health and marriage (equality) John G. Culhane
Part III. Dimensions of Violence: 5. Using public health to reform the legal and justice response to domestic violence Evan Stark
6. Law and policy approaches to keeping guns from high risk people Jon S. Vernick, Daniel W. Webster and Katherine Vittes
Part IV. Beyond Compensation: Public Features of Private Litigation: 7. Tort litigation for the public's health Elizabeth Weeks Leonard
8. Punitive damages and the public health agenda Jean Macchiaroli Eggen.

Subject Areas: Medical & healthcare law [LNTM], Public health & safety law [LNTJ], Public international law [LBB], International law [LB]