The applicants, two tobacco companies in Canada, sought a stay in the form of interlocutory relief from compliance with the Tobacco Products Control Regulations, amendment until the Supreme Court renders its decision on the validity of the Tobacco Products Control Act (“the Act”). The Act came into force on January 1, 1989 with the purpose …Read more

Nicholas Toonen was a gay man, HIV/AIDS activist, and LGBT rights activist living in Tasmania. Tasmania criminalized same-sex sexual conduct among men under ss 122 and 123 its criminal code; it was the last remaining state or territory of Australia to do so, the remainder having repealed such laws. Toonen brought a communication before the …Read more

Schuler (S), who had contributed to the state invalidity insurance from her wages when working, contracted tuberculosis and was granted an invalidity pension when it was determined that she was unfit for work. She gave birth to a son in 1984 and, after being required to undergo a medical examination, her pension was cancelled with …Read more

This case considered whether Article 7 §2 of the law dated January 24, 1977 (“Article 7 §2”) from the Belgian Federal Parliament (governing the protection of consumer health with respect to nutritional foodstuff) or Article 13 of the decree dated December 2, 1982 (“Article 13”) from the Council of the French Community (restricting certain advertising …Read more

The Applicants were two Irish companies that provided counseling to pregnant women, Open Door Counselling Ltd. and Dublin Well Woman Centre Ltd.; two counselors who worked for Dublin Well Woman, Bonnie Maher and Ann Downes; and two women of childbearing age, Mrs. X and Mrs. Geraghty. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children brought …Read more

Article 7, § 2 of the law dated January 24, 1977 regulated the protection of consumer health and specifically gave the national legislature authority to regulate tobacco advertising. In 1980,  a special law was passed, which deemed the authority of the Communities under the Constitution to include the right to regulate “health education as well as …Read more

The respondent, patient, had requested copies of her complete medical records from her physician, the appellant. The patient’s physician provided copies of all the records that she had prepared to the patient. However, she refused to provide copies of the medical reports and records, which she had received from other physicians who had treated the …Read more

In 1970, Congress enacted Title X of the Public Health Service Act (the Act), which provided federal funding for family planning services. Section 1008 of the Act prohibited the use of Title X federal funding “for programs where abortion [was] a method of family planning.” The Regulations to the Act (the Regulations), introduced by the …Read more

The Appellants brought this challenge to the constitutionality of an Alabama statute which authorized the Alabama Department of Correction’s (DOC) policy of mandatory testing of all present and future Alabama state prisoners for HIV antibodies, as well as the forced segregation of HIV-positive inmates. Two classes were involved in the action: the Appellant class, which …Read more

John Doe brought a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Agent Held alleging that they discriminated against him by ceasing to send agents to him for physical examinations because of his AIDS. John Doe was a physician who gave physical examinations to FBI agents and to potential agents in the hiring process. …Read more

The plaintiff, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, an Irish company whose purpose was to prevent the decriminalization of abortion, brought a suit against the defendants, including Stephen Grogan and fourteen other officers of Irish student organizations, for their distribution of “specific information relating to the identity and location of clinics” in other …Read more

Appellant Leckelt, a licensed practical nurse, was discharged by his hospital employer when he refused to provide the hospital with his HIV antibody test results. In his capacity as a nurse, Leckelt performed a number of functions, including administering medication orally and by injection, and working in the intensive care unit and the emergency room. …Read more

The Appellants, Y.G. and L.G, husband and wife, brought this common law tort claim of an invasion of privacy. At the time of the incident, the wife, L.G., was five months pregnant, bearing triplets conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) at and under the guidance of the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis (the Hospital). The …Read more

Kerstin H. had an operation intended to lessen pain in her hip, however after the operation she still suffered from the original ailment as well as new pain. Prior to the operation, Kerstin H. had been informed that the doctors aimed “to clean up the area around the nerve” (the doctors had also used such …Read more

W pled guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility for the indiscriminate killing of several people. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was detained indefinitely in mental hospitals. A Mental Health Tribunal recommended W’s transfer to a regional secure unit (“RSU”) in 1984. The Secretary of State refused to consent to W’s …Read more

  The applicant, a French citizen, struggled with depression, schizophrenia and, at some points, symptoms of catatonia.  In May of 1961, the applicant, who was a primary school supply teacher, voluntarily reported to the neurological clinic at Strasbourg Hospital for observation. He expected to be in the hospital for two weeks. In June of 1961, …Read more

On November 5 1986, the Court of First Instance and Preliminary Investigations No. 10 of Malaga ordered the search of a medical clinic where criminal actions (specifically, the administration of abortions) were allegedly taking place. In so doing, information regarding the medical history of Ms. Ximena’s (the appellant) was recorded. On November 21, 1986, the …Read more

The respondent had an accident and suffered a head laceration. A police officer drove the respondent to the hospital where the doctor collected free-flowing blood for medical purposes from the respondent who was unconscious. He gave the blood to a police officer who did not have a search warrant or patient consent. The patient was …Read more

The Multnomah County Medical Society (the Medical Society) filed an action under § 552 of the Freedom of Information Act 1966 (FOIA) to compel James Scott, the deputy administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) tasked with the administration of the State Medicare program, to disclose the names and addresses of all Medicare beneficiaries …Read more

LK Koolwal, the Petitioner, sought to enforce the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 1959 (the Act) in the city of Jaipur. Under the Act, the Municipality has a duty to clean public places of all filth. The Petitioner contended that several areas in Jaipur were frought with sanitation problems and the Municipality was not performing its duties …Read more

The Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS) issued a memorandum of guidance to local health authorities that stated that, inter alia, “consultations between doctors and patients are confidential,” even for children less than 16. The memorandum noted that while “it would be most unusual,” a doctor could advise the child regarding contraception without parental …Read more

Rudkin, a long-time employee of the defendant corporation, developed pneumoconiosis, lung cancer, or other asbestos-related illnesses from his work with asbestos. The defendant knew about the harms of exposure to asbestos, yet it hid that information from Rudkin and continued to encourage him to work in an unsafe environment. After Rudkin had developed an industrial …Read more

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) began a health hazard evaluation of a Westinghouse Electric Corporation plant in Pennsylvania after receiving a request from an authorized union representative from Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Physicians and an industrial hygienist employed by NIOSH did walk-through inspections of the plant. The inspecting physicians suspected that the …Read more

The Respondent, Population Planning Associates (PPA) was a corporation primarily engaged in the mail-order retail sale of nonmedical contraceptive devices. PPA regularly advertised its products in periodicals, and accepted and filled orders by mailing contraceptives to purchasers. The advertisements and order forms did not limit the availability of PPA’s products to persons of any particular …Read more

The Respondents, a group of individual patients, doctors and physician associations, challenged the constitutionality of the New York State Controlled Substances Act of 1972 (‘Act’). Certain provisions of the Act required that all prescriptions for Schedule II drugs (dangerous but permissible medication) be prepared by the physician in triplicate on an official form.The completed form …Read more

The Respondents, consumers of prescription drugs and non-profit organizations in Virginia, brought proceedings against the Virginia State Pharmacy Board, alleging that a Virginia statute prohibiting the advertising of prescription drug prices violated the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment. Section 54-524.35 of the Virginia statute provided that: “a pharmacist licensed in Virginia was …Read more

Appellants were parents of children who had attended Denmark public schools until they were refused exemption from the country’s compulsory sex education lessons. The parents claimed a violation of the right to education under Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Convention) because the alternatives to public education included costly …Read more