Woman asks a question about a medication to a pharmacist.

Upholding the Right to Choose: The Imperative for Federal Protection of Over-the-Counter Birth Control Access

Law & Policy InsightsReproductive Health and Equity 

March 11, 2024
by Vineeta Gupta, M.D., J.D., LL.M

Network for Public Health Law Executive Director, Dr. Vineeta Gupta, explores the challenges and opportunities related to the new over-the-counter oral contraceptive Opill, including the potential for states to impose age-related restrictions on its purchase. Her perspective as a human rights lawyer and maternal health physician offers a comprehensive look at key areas to protect access to Opill.

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The Network Appoints Quang (“Q”) Dang as Managing Director, Legal Programs & Strategy

Network News

March 7, 2024

As part of the Network’s leadership team, Dang will oversee the work of the Network project and regional teams in advancing law and policy solutions and providing direct legal technical assistance to those working to create healthier, more equitable communities. He will also work closely with external partners in public health, as well as community, philanthropic and advocacy organizations working to advance health in their communities.

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Some Courts are Finding that a Gender Dysphoria Diagnosis Entitles Individuals to Legal Protections Under the ADA

Law & Policy InsightsMechanisms for Advancing Health EquityMental Health and Well-BeingHealth in SchoolLegislation and Legal ChallengesHealth and Health Care

March 7, 2024
by Colleen Healy Boufides

Anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country is at an all-time high. These laws and the prejudice they reflect have negative impacts on the health and wellbeing of gender diverse people. Recently, plaintiffs have successfully challenged some anti-transgender laws under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A recent case serves as an example of this novel approach and its potential to have a wide-sweeping impact on rights for people who are transgender, people who are disabled, and those who share both identities.

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Changing State Policy to Promote Stronger Opioid Antagonists: Unnecessary and Potentially Harmful

Law & Policy InsightsSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal ProjectHarm Reduction Legal Project Resources

February 22, 2024
by Amy Lieberman

The increasing need for access to naloxone to reverse opioid-related overdoses has drawn the interest of pharmaceutical companies who see an opportunity to market new, non-generic, more potent opioid antagonist products. State lawmakers have made changes in policy based on these marketing efforts. However, early research suggests that these high dose drugs are unnecessary and pose significant risks and side-effects, raising concerns over the commercialization of harm reduction efforts in the U.S.

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Why Proposed Legislation to End Judicial Deference to Executive Agencies Matters for Public Health

Law & Policy InsightsPublic Health AuthorityEmergency Legal Preparedness and Response

February 21, 2024
by Darlene Huang Briggs

When a judge hears a case involving an agency’s interpretation of a statute, they defer to a qualified party—typically a state or federal agency—for their technical subject matter expertise in interpreting that statute. However, there has been a movement to pass legislation disallowing this practice. While these efforts do not target public health by name, they do make it harder for all agencies to implement needed rules and policies in the future–including state and local health agencies.

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Emerging Laws and Policies for Improved Climate Resilience and Increased Health Equity

Law & Policy InsightsEnvironment, Climate and HealthEmergency Legal Preparedness and ResponseMechanisms for Advancing Health Equity

February 8, 2024
by Jill Krueger

In response to ongoing extreme weather events and climate-related threats, there is an increasing urgency to enact laws and policies that address the negative health impacts of climate change and that equip communities with the resources and protections they need to adapt. In 2024, the Network will be monitoring state legislative activity for bills and enacted laws that will either advance or hinder climate mitigation and adaptation.

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What is the Nondelegation Doctrine and Why Does it Matter to Public Health?

Law & Policy InsightsPublic Health AuthorityEmergency Legal Preparedness and Response

February 8, 2024
by Emma Kaeser

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been an onslaught of legal challenges to public health authority, some of which cite a rule known as the nondelegation doctrine. The nondelegation doctrine purports to promote accountability by shifting power from unelected officials to legislatures. But in practice, limiting health officers’ authority can impede a health department’s ability to protect communities from harm.

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Improving Financial Literacy to Improve Health and Reduce Health Inequities One High School Graduate at a Time

Law & Policy InsightsMechanisms for Advancing Health Equity

February 6, 2024
by Kathleen Hoke

Financial capability (financial literacy coupled with access to economic opportunity) has a positive, long-term effect on health. However, many people living in the margins financially are not adequately equipped with financial education and training to make the most of their employment or other financial resources. Over the past decade, states have increasingly adopted legislation requiring students in public schools to pass personal finance courses in order to graduate high school.

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Voter Trends on Ballot Measures Show Support for Reproductive Rights

Law & Policy InsightsReproductive Health and Equity Maternal and Child Health

January 25, 2024
by April Shaw and Phyllis Jeden

As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, states now have more legislative power to restrict or expand access to abortion services. One strategy that states are using to pass laws regarding abortion access is to place the issue of abortion on a ballot for voters to decide. These reproductive care access ballot measures are an important litmus test for the inclination of American voters.

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Repeal of Paraphernalia Laws: Minnesota Leads the Way

Law & Policy InsightsSubstance Use Prevention and Harm ReductionHarm Reduction Legal ProjectLegislation and Legal ChallengesHarm Reduction Legal Project Resources

December 13, 2023
by Corey Davis

State laws that make it illegal to distribute or use items such as sterile syringes and smoking equipment have resulted in near record levels of drug overdose, hepatitis C infections and injection-related endocarditis due to the sharing of injections and inhalation supplies. Many advocates and observers, including members of the Network’s Harm Reduction Legal Project, have long advocated for the complete repeal of these harmful laws. Minnesota recently became the first state to do so.

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Innovative Use of Federal Power to Protect Tenants from Eviction

Law & Policy InsightsHealthy and Affordable HousingMechanisms for Advancing Public HealthMechanisms for Advancing Health Equity

December 12, 2023
by Kathleen Hoke

With the recission of the federal declaration of public health emergency, tenants lost some protections from the CARES Act and related federal policies. Proposals in the Biden Administration’s Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights provides avenues to support tenants in housing and project based rental assistance and expands those protections as negotiated measures between Freddie Mac and the landlord community.

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