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Biomedical subjects

F H Cate

Publications and source records attributed to F H Cate.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Cybersex: regulating sexually explicit expression on the Internet.

While the First Amendment restricts the power of the government to control access by adults to sexually explicit expression that is not obscene, the government may restrict access by children, provided that those restrictions do not limit adults to reading only "what is fit for children." Controlling access by children presents special problems in the context of broadcasting, because broadcast programming is accessible to children too young to read and because of the impossibility of segregating adults and children in the audience. The Supreme Court therefore permits the government to require "channeling" of sexually explicit programming to times when fewer unsupervised children are in the audience, to facilitate parental control over children's access to sexually explicit material. Although Internet content includes less than one percent of sexually explicit expression, that material has been the subject of intensive media and government attention. Much of that attention ignores (1) the high level of constitutional protection applicable to non-obscene, sexually explicit expression; (2) features of the Internet which facilitate controlling access by children to sexually explicit expression far more effectively than in broadcasting or print media; and (3) the First Amendment values served by permitting expression of all forms on the Internet.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Intellectual property and networked health information: issues and principles.

Information networks offer enormous potential for improving the delivery of health care services, facilitating health-related decision-making, and contributing to better health. In addition, advanced information technologies offer important opportunities for new markets, targeted information products and services, greater accessibility, lower costs and prices, and more rapid and efficient distribution. Realizing the full potential of those information resources requires the resolution of significant intellectual property issues, some of which may be affected by special features of health information. For example, the government is a significant funder and originator of health-related information. In addition, much of that information is of great importance to the population and benefits not only individual users, but also employers, insurance companies, the government, and society as a whole. The government must therefore continue to provide particularly important health information to the public, and facilitate that information's accessibility and reliability, while avoiding unnecessary competition with private information providers. Congress and courts must modify or interpret current copyright law as necessary to guarantee that it does not interfere with innovation in tailored health information or exceed its constitutional boundaries and restrict access to information, as opposed to expression. Both producers and users of information must work with the government to educate the public about the availability of health information and the rights of and limitations upon users under copyright law.

Authorship↗
PubMed1992

Implementing the Patient Self-Determination Act.

On December 1, 1991, the federal Patient Self-Determination Act became effective. The Act's purpose is to ensure that a patient's right to direct his or her own health care decision making is maintained. This article discusses the requirements of the Act, summarizes the interim rules promulgated to implement the Act's provisions, and assesses the soundness of the Act.

Advance Directives↗
PubMed1990

Lifesaving connections--communications, coordination, and transplantation.

Thousands of people suffer and die, and numerous biomedical experiments are cancelled or scaled back each year because of an unnecessary shortage of organs and tissues for transplantation and research. Exacerbating the shortage is the absence of effective national coordination of organ and tissue procurement and the lack of systematic attention given to educating the public and the medical profession about transplantation and donation. The National Organ Transplant Act, passed by Congress in 1984, was an incomplete, narrowly focused, and inadequately funded effort to address these issues. We recommend the more effective use of advanced communications technologies and skills to assure a unified, concerted effort to bring the benefits of donated organs and tissues to greater numbers of Americans. We must ensure that advances in computers, telecommunications, mass media, and interpersonal communications are employed to ensure the coordination of procurement agencies with each other and with physicians and biomedical researchers, the systematic education of physicians and families, and the increased involvement of the public. Realization of the full potential of transplantation will not be possible without a renewed spirit of cooperation, better funding, and sustained political support from both the public and policymakers.

Communication↗
PubMed1990

Increasing the supply of organs for transplantation: the role of ethics and law.

In the face of constantly escalating shortages of organs and tissues, all options for increasing the supply of transplantable body parts must be explored. To make the current system more effective, donor cards and required request laws should be respected and enforced. Alternatives to the current system, such as incentives for donation and presumed consent laws, must also be carefully considered. Health care professionals, ethicists, and attorneys need to work together to address the issues posed by those medical advances--including the use of living partial organ donors and non-heartbeating cadaveric donors--that promise to increase the supply of transplantable organs and tissues necessary to save lives.

Altruism↗