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Law 792-PP: Biomedical Ethics (SP 19): Finding a Topic Using Primary Sources

Use this guide to idenitfy legal and non-legal resources for bioethics research.

via Cases

There are many health law and bioethics related cases. Your textbook outlines the major areas and top cases; check the footnotes and/or Shepardize/KeyCite any of the cases that are of interest to you to find a related topic.

You can also search caselaw for reference to broad topics like end of life decisions, drug approvals, public health, outbreaks, gene therapy, etc. Another way to sort through cases is to start with the West Topic and Key Number structure, and identify a key number or group of numbers that are of interest, and then find cases with headnotes on that topic. 

For example:

Search for "drug approval" in Key Numbers:

Health 198H k 319 Applications and approvals > Generic and orphan drugs; market exclusivity
Health 198H k 317 Applications and approvals > New drugs
Health 198H k 320 Applications and approvals > Effect of approval or non-approval; off-label use

If you click on a key number, you'll be taken to cases with headnotes on that topic, which you can then limit to particular jurisdictions.

If you're looking for topics that involve a clash between circuits, then check out U.S. Law Week on BNA (there's a link to Circuit Splits in the lower left corner).

via Statutes

Below is a non-exhaustive list of major federal laws related to health care and bioethics.
Included are citations to regulations related to each.  

Federal Law:                     

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or Obamacare) -  42 U.S.C. 18001 et seq. See also, 42 C.F.R. § 600.300
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. See also, 29 C.F.R. § 1630.1
Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA) - 
42 U.S.C. § 11101 et seq. See also 45 C.F.R. § 60.1 et seq.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) - 42 U.S.C.A. § 300gg. See also 45 C.F.R. § 160.101
Emergency Medical Treatment and Liability Act (EMTLA)
 - 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd. See also 42 C.F.R. § 489.20
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act - 21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq. See also 21 C.F.R. § 1.1 et seq.
Controlled Substances Act - 21 U.S.C. § 801et seq. See also 21 C.F.R. § 1308.11
Medicare - 42 U.S.C.A. § 1395 et seq. See also 42 C.F.R. § 400.200
Medicaid - 42 U.S.C.A. § 1396a et seq. See also 42 C.F.R. § 400.200

State Law:

While the federal government has created many laws and regulations in this area, health care and bioethics related laws are traditionally the within the police powers of the states. States also often have corollary state laws which mirror federal laws. Often these laws provide greater rights than the federal counterpart.

Many states adopt the same or very similar laws.  The Uniform Law Commission acts as a vehicle to help states establish such laws.  With regard to health care and bioethics, a majority of states have enacted these uniform laws:

  • Anatomical Gift Act
  • Controlled Substances Act
  • Determination of Death Act

States are also responsible for the licensing and regulation of the medical profession.  The major legal databases can be utilized to search for health and bioethics laws and regulations controlling in the various jurisdictions. Additionally, one can search for laws concerning bioethics on state government websites. 

via Agencies

Health law is a heavily regulated area of law. In addition to issuing rules and regulations, administrative agencies typically have the authority to enforce (adjudicate) those rules and regulations through hearing and decision making processes. Hearing decisions and ALJ rulings are available most readily on Westlaw and LexisNexis.

Agency websites, however, are often the best place to locate secondary source materials.  An A-Z list of U.S. administrative agencies is available on USA.gov.