The role of government in determining journalists' ethical decision making.

Some have described the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a scientific bureaucracy with police powers. Does a “cult of infallibility” exist within the FDA, leading to decisions that are contrary to the best interests of patients and their physicians? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is one of the most powerful of federal regulatory agencies, if not the most powerful. It regulates over 25% of all consumer goods sold in the United States. It makes decisions on a daily basis that affect the lives of millions of people. While the FDA was created to protect the public, how well is it fulfilling this mission and whose interests is it actually protecting? In this book, four outstanding scholars examine how the FDA accumulated its enormous power and what effects it has had on the public. It also explores who actually benefits and loses from FDA actions, and whether alternatives exist to safeguard the health of Americans. This book raises serious questions about the wisdom of giving policing power to scientists with little oversight or appeal process, as the FDA currently does. It also argues forcefully that the FDA unnecessarily delays beneficial medicines and medical devices, many of which are routinely available in Europe, from being available to Americans.

President Clinton's health care reform proposals of 1993 represented the most far-reaching program of social engineering attempted in the United States since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Under the guise of reforming the health care system, the Clinton plan would have herded almost all Americans under age sixty-five into large, government-sponsored health insurance purchasing alliances that would have contracted with insurers to offer a standard set of benefits at regulated prices. The plan came under fire from both Republicans and Democrats, including moderates from both parties, but it soon became apparent that what doomed it was a public unwilling to trust government to manage their health care. The critical literature has failed to offer a cogent analysis of why government control of health care does not work. American Health Care delivers that analysis. This volume examines why untoward consequences usually follow when government sets out to do good things. The contributors demonstrate how hospital rate regulation raises hospital prices, that "no-fault" medical malpractice increases the occurrence of faulty medicine, and that FDA regulation is a major cause for the escalating cost of new drugs. Part 1, trace the genesis of Medicare and its later developments and argue the consumer advantages of medical savings accounts and written health contracts. Part 2, explore the fallacies of antitrust policies that serve the interests of competitors, attack community rating for making health insurance unaffordable to large numbers of young workers. Part 3, contains a powerful critique of the FDA for withholding vital information on the health benefits of aspirin and shows how HMOs and other plans have caused pharmaceutical marketing to shift its focus from medical effectiveness to cost effectiveness. The final section explores how the private sector is improving in the areas of regulating physician and other health professional fees and the supply and quality of health professionals. American Health Care proposes reasonable balances between government and market options for in supply of health services. Without denying the need for some governmental action, the contributors show how far the market can go farther in performing critical functions in the health care industry. This volume will be important reading for health policymakers, economists, and health care professionals. Roger Feldman is professor at the Institute for Health Services Research, University of Minnesota. Mark V. Pauly is professor in the Department of Health Care Systems of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Americans often believe that the First Amendment and free speech are synonymous and that all restrictions on speech can be addressed by the legal framework of the First Amendment. Political theorist Samuel P. Nelson argues that the current legal framework for free speech actually undermines attempts to resolve many of these issues and that the law of the First Amendment has supplanted the vital politics of free speech. To cut through the confusion, Nelson takes a step back from the First Amendment framework to understand the social nature of speech, moving toward a more pluralistsic and value-based understanding. He examines three philosophies commonly used to justify speech protection—libertarianism, expressivism, and egalitarianism—and finds none of them sufficiently responsive in today's contemporary political landscape. Advocating an approach grounded in value pluralism—which describes a wider variety of free speech claims than the First Amendment allows—Nelson pushes the debate beyond constitutional and legal questions.

Shows that while the Supreme Court enforces some First Amendment rights vigorously, it often fails to protect ordinary citizens' expressive freedoms.

Buy a new version of this textbook and receive access to the Connected eBook on CasebookConnect, including: lifetime access to the online ebook with highlight, annotation, and search capabilities, plus an outline tool and other helpful resources. Connected eBooks provide what you need most to be successful in your law school classes. The First Amendment: Cases and Theory, Fourth Edition is a comprehensive and up to date First Amendment casebook that covers freedom of speech, freedom of association, and religious liberties. The First Amendment: Cases and Theory, Fourth Edition, uses the case method to elucidate theory and doctrine. In an area rife with multi-factor tests, mastery of First Amendment theory and doctrine requires more than rote memorization of three- and four-part tests; it requires a firm foundation in the underlying theories and purposes that animate the Supreme Court's decisions. No less important, the casebook also includes Theory Applied Problems at the end of each major section. These Theory Applied Problems provide an easy and convenient means to assess students' mastery of the relevant theories and precedents. The editors also have included carefully targeted coverage of how other constitutional democracies, such as Canada and Germany, have reached very different conclusions regarding the scope and meaning of expressive freedom. All major contemporary free expression and religious liberty controversies receive coverage, with helpful notes to answer student questions and deepen their understanding of the subject areas. The First Amendment: Cases and Theory is a highly teachable casebook suitable for a standard three-hour survey of the First Amendment, but also for more focused courses on the Speech, Press, Assembly Clauses, and the Religion Clauses. New to the 4th Edition: Revised chapters on basic free speech doctrines including "low value" speech, content neutrality, symbolic conduct, and freedom of association Addition of recent major Supreme Court decisions on free expression, free exercise of religion, and the Establishment Clause Consideration of how social media affects freedom of expression Professors and students will benefit from: Completely revised and updated coverage - including coverage of the Supreme Court's major First Amendment decisions since publication of the Third Edition Comprehensive coverage of contemporary major free speech and religious freedom controversies that are likely to generate future landmark Supreme Court precedents in the years to come Suitable for adoption in comprehensive First Amendment survey courses as well as more narrowly focused courses on the Speech, Press, and Assembly Clauses or the Religion Clauses The perspective of Tim Zick, a noted expert on freedom of expression, as a new casebook coauthor Covers cutting edge free speech controversies such as sexting, revenge porn, racist trademarks, government speech, and student speech rights in the age of the internet Places doctrinal developments into a coherent historical narrative that shows the evolving nature of First Amendment doctrine Includes targeted coverage of free speech rules in foreign jurisdictions that have considered, but rejected, the U.S. approach in important areas such as libel, hate speech, national security, and sexually explicit speech Reorganized and updated coverage of foundational free speech and association doctrines Completely reorganized and updated coverage of the Religion Clauses Includes up-to-date coverage of the growing conflicts over religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws for individuals, churches, and businesses. Includes dedicated coverage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and state RFRAs Presents the "Lemon," "endorsement," "coercion," and "history and tradition" tests for Establishment Clause challenges Separation of church and state cases in multiple areas from vouchers to creationism in schools to government sponsored Latin crosses to legislative prayers. Provides comprehensive coverage of the First Amendment in a casebook that can still be taught cover-to-cover in a standard three-hour survey course format without requiring the instructor to make selective coverage decisions