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Currents in Contemporary Bioethics: Constitutional Right to Informational Health Privacy in Critical Condition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Abstract

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Type
JLME Column
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2011

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References

Matson v. Bd. of Educ., 631 F.3d 57 (2d Cir. 2011).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
429 U.S. 589 (1977).Google Scholar
See generally Gostin, L. O., “Health Information Privacy,” Cornell Law Review 80, no. 3 (1995): 451527; Kreimer, S. F., “Sunlight, Secrets, and Scarlet Letters: The Tension Between Privacy and Disclosure in Constitutional Law,” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 140, no. 1 (1991): 1–147.Google Scholar
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Id., at 607 (Brennan, J., concurring).Google Scholar
Doe v. City of N.Y., 15 F.3d 264 (2d Cir. 1994).Google Scholar
Powell v. Schriver, 175 F.3d 107 (2d Cir. 1999).Google Scholar
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Matson at 64, quoting Doe, 15 F.3d at 267 (emphasis in original).Google Scholar
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15 F.3d 264 (2d Cir. 1994).Google Scholar
Matson, at 74 n. 5 (Straub, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part).Google Scholar
636 F.2d 163 (6th Cir. 1980).Google Scholar
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5 U.S.C. § 552a (2010).Google Scholar
5 U.S.C. § 552a(b) (2010). See 5 C.F.R. § 297.401 (2010).Google Scholar
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5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)(1) (2010). See Doe v. Dep't of Justice, 660 F. Supp. 2d 31 (D.D.C. 2009) (no violation because of recipient's need to know information); Chaco v. Chertoff, 2006 WL 3422548 (D.D.C. 2006) (no violation because of recipient's need to know information).Google Scholar
42 U.S.C. § 12111 (2010). Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 791 (2010), contains similar provisions applicable to federal government employers.Google Scholar
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See, e.g., Urbaniak v. Newton, 277 Cal. Rptr. 354, 360 (Cal. Ct. App. 1991) (HIV positive status held to be a private fact); Robert C. Ozer, P.C. v. Borquez, 940 P.2d 371, 378 (Colo. 1997) (facts related to “unpleasant or disgraceful” illnesses are considered private).Google Scholar
See, e.g., Davis v. Monsanto Co., 627 F. Supp. 418, 421–22 (S.D.W. Va. 1986) (no violation where disclosure made to protect health of coworkers).Google Scholar
See, e.g., Ekugwum v. City of Jackson, 2010 WL 1490247 (S.D. Miss. 2010) (supervisor's disclosure of employee's mental health condition to coworkers was insufficient publication).Google Scholar
Ariz. Const. art. II, § 8; Cal. Const. art. I, § 1; Haw. Const. art. I, § 6; Ill. Const. art. I, § 6; La. Const. art. I, § 5; Wash. Const. art. I, §7.Google Scholar
See, e.g., Hill v. NCAA, 865 P.2d 633 (Cal. 1994) (drug testing by private employers is subject to state constitutional privacy provision).Google Scholar
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45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 164 (2011).Google Scholar
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433 U.S. 425, 457 (1977). The case involved the release of President Nixon's papers and tape recordings, which he claimed would violate his informational privacy.Google Scholar
NASA v. Nelson, 131 S. Ct. 746, 756 (2011).Google Scholar
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