Tag: US Supreme Court
Legislative alchemy and abortion: How the fall of Roe v. Wade will degrade science-based medicine
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, eliminating the federal right to an abortion. What does that mean for science-based reproductive health and science-based medicine in general? Hint: It's not good, even for areas of medicine outside of reproductive health.
Good faith doctoring or greedy drug dealing? SCOTUS hears opioid prescribing cases
Physicians running opioid "pill mills" were convicted of violating the Controlled Substances Act and given substantial prison sentences. The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether they were entitled to a "good faith" defense at trial.
Supreme Court rules that FTC cannot seek restitution on behalf of consumers
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the FTC lacks the authority to seek consumer refunds and other monetary relief from scammers. Without a fix from Congress, the ability of the FTC, and perhaps other agencies, to redress financial injuries caused by quacks and other frauds is greatly diminished.
An Independence Day Tribute to Vaccination
In language that still resonates, Jacobson v. Massachusetts (U.S. Supreme Court, 1905) affirmed state authority to protect health, safety and welfare for the common good with mandatory vaccination despite individual non-medical objections.
Patient Beware: Off-label drug promotion by pharmaceutical companies
Pharmaceutical companies and their sales reps can distribute information, such as medical journal articles, about unapproved (“off-label“) uses of their drugs as long as they adhere to FDA guidelines. However, the FDA takes the position that this information must be distributed separately from information that is “promotional in nature,” i.e., for marketing purposes, a position that is now open to question. Off-label...
Supreme Court Saves Nation’s Immunization Program
The Supreme Court of the United States made a ruling the other day that has profound implications for the health of millions of children. Since October 12, 2010, The Court has been quietly deliberating the case of Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, inc. The case centers on Russell and Robalee Bruesewitz’s allegation that their 18 year old daughter, Hannah, was irreversibly injured by a...
Wyeth Vs. Levine: Joe Six Pack Trumps The FDA
The New York Times has called today’s US Supreme Court ruling in the Wyeth vs. Levine suit the “most important business case in years.” I have been following this case for many months, astonished that a medical malpractice suit had gotten all the way to the Supreme Court. But even more shocking is the fact that the court actually ruled that lay...
Wyeth vs. Levine: Should Drug Label Standards Be Determined By Juries?
It is with some degree of trepidation that I enter the fray on the Wyeth vs. Levine case. I’ve been watching the media frenzy about the lawsuit with interest – mostly because (for the first time in a while) I think that the pharmaceutical company is in the right on this one – and that most journalists (and even medical journal editors)...