Emma Kaeser, J.D., is a senior attorney with the Network for Public Health Law’s Mid-States Region. Her current areas of focus include legal and policy issues related to privacy, health information sharing, and public health authority. She is particularly interested in work to dismantle punitive systems that harm communities and to advance equitable access to health-affirming services and conditions. At the Network, Emma provides support in the form of research, legal technical assistance, training, and practical resources to assist those working to promote healthier communities.
Before joining the Network, Emma served as a law clerk for the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Prior to that, she worked as a litigation associate at a law firm and had an active pro bono practice advocating for the rights of youth with disabilities through direct services and impact litigation. Emma holds a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Princeton University and a law degree from Stanford Law School. While in law school, Emma worked with the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality, researching and developing resources on school policing and exclusionary school discipline as drivers of racial health inequity among youth.
Overview The current legal and policy landscape has fueled anxiety and confusion for those involved in work related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA),…
Overview Laws and policies that promote public health and health equity are designed to be effective for the broader population or specific demographics within the…
Overview Part two of a series of articles exploring how law and policy are a cornerstone of public health data modernization. Other articles…
Overview The recently released Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics supplemental issue features articles authored by presenters at the 2025 Public Health Law…
Overview Amidst a wave of anti-immigrant policies, recent changes impacting the Title X Family Planning Program, an essential source of free and low-cost…
Overview Reproductive health information is often highly sensitive, and its disclosure and misuse can have harmful consequences, such as stigma, harassment, criminalization, and barriers to…
Overview March 26, 2026 | 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. CTThe past year was filled with federal actions that greatly impacted public health, both in the traditional sense…
This document summarizes the rights of minors to consent to various types of health care without the consent or knowledge of their parents. It also covers whether the law permits information concerning the minor’s health care to be shared with the parent. Though the details of this document apply only in Michigan, the legal provisions likely have counterparts in other states. Lawyers in other states may have developed, or could develop, comparable summaries for their states. You may wish to talk with your attorney, or visit the Public Health Lawyer Directory to find a public health attorney in your state.
Maintaining the privacy of reproductive health information is critical for ensuring access to care, promoting open communication with providers, and preventing harm like stigma, harassment, and criminalization. This issue brief aims to support policymakers and others considering enactment of additional state-level protections. To that end, it describes the 2024 Final Rule’s protections that are no longer in effect and identifies HIPAA provisions that could leave reproductive health information vulnerable to punitive use and disclosure. It then provides a general overview of privacy-related state shield laws, analyzes how they relate to the 2024 Final Rule, and identifies considerations for enactment of additional protections, providing state law examples for others to draw from.
Federal policies shape the environments that determine whether people and communities can live healthy lives. Since Donald Trump took office for his second term as president on January 20, 2025, he has signed a series of Executive Orders (EOs), many of which impact public health. The Network has created an EO tracker which compiles the 2025 EOs most relevant to the public health space through a lens of Health in All Policies (HiAP). Inclusion in this tracker is not exhaustive, and content may be updated or revised as additional Executive Orders are issued or identified.
Advancing health equity is central to the Network’s mission, and supporting the leaders driving this work is essential to improving community health. The Network recently launched the Equity Officer Peer Group for those working in equity to come together to learn and discuss successes, opportunities, and challenges in this work. Even if equity is just one aspect of your work, we invite you to join us in creating a supportive community for those working to advance health equity.
The divide between states seeking to restrict abortion and states permitting it continues to widen, as the former pursue new, increasingly draconian, maneuvers to restrict abortion access and the latter bolster protections in response. The intra-state conflict incited by this divide is coming to a head in a legal struggle between Texas and New York. The lawsuit, Texas v. Bruck, challenges enforcement of a New York shield law and threatens the viability of such legal safeguards moving forward, with major consequences for reproductive health care access.
