Law Library

CSN Public Health Law Update April 2005

Once a month, CSN sends a summary of recent news articles about injury prevention law to the participants of the CSNDiscuss electronic mailing list. The abstracts are excerpted from the CDC Public Health Law News, produced by the Public Health Law Program, CDC. Most items are linked to Web sites. If you have trouble linking to a full-text article, you may request a faxed copy from CSN.

" Bill would allow doctors to refuse CPR "
Herald-Dispatch.com (01/27/06) Carol J. Spizzirri
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060127/NEWS01/601270319/1001/NEWS

Doctors could refuse to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on patients who are so ill that it would do no good -- even if the patients had previously said in writing they wanted it -- under a bill pending in the Legislature.

"State laws vary on driving distractions"
Stateline.org (03/22/05) Eric Kelderman
http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageI

In 2001, New Hampshire became the first U.S. state to pass a law against distracted driving. Drivers face fines of up to $1,000 if police find that distractions such as eating, drinking, putting on makeup, or talking on a cell phone led to an accident. Other state's laws are more limited in focus. Thirty-eight states prohibit drivers from watching television while driving, and 11 states plus the District of Columbia restrict drivers' cell phone use. Nineteen states are currently tracking cell phone involvement in auto crashes. Cell phone companies and some safety advocates say the New Hampshire approach is the better way to go. "If you're going to have a law, it should cover all distractions," said Jonathan Adkins of the Governors Highway Safety Association. But efforts to pass broad distracted driving legislation have so far failed to advance in Maryland and Tennessee. Some states have passed laws preserving drivers' right to use cell phones while driving, by preventing municipalities from making rules on cell phone use (Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.) Sixty-two bills that would limit cell phone use while driving were proposed in 26 states this legislative session. Existing data suggest that cell phones were a factor in less than one percent of all accidents, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). But the information is not conclusive, since there is rarely any physical evidence of cell phone use at a crash site.

Utah: Automated emergency notification system strengthens public health response
"Emergency notification system deemed success"
Salt Lake Tribune (03/18/05) Janine S. Creager
http://www.sltrib.com/davis/ci_2611674

"Money found for suicide study"
San Francisco Chronicle (03/24/05) Peter Fimrite
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/03/24/BAGFIBU2CT1.DTL

Officials in California are considering a request to use Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) money to study a suicide barrier for the Golden Gate Bridge. Golden Gate Bridge directors had previously approved environmental studies and the preliminary design of a suicide barrier, but had not authorized funding for the project, which will cost $2 million. Now, Bay Area transportation money could provide the bulk of the funding for the study. The Golden Gate Bridge District board's advisory committee is considering a formal request to use $1.6 million from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a portion of some $105 million in federal transportation funds that are available for Bay Area projects. "We are considering how to spend this money and this is one of the things that is under discussion," said Randy Rentschler, legislative director for the MTC. Faced with a projected $70 million deficit over the next five years, the bridge district will have to seek federal, state, and local funds, corporate donations, and other grants to finance the suicide barrier if it is approved. Construction of the barrier would cost $15 - 25 million. Supporters of the barrier include psychiatrists who have treated suicidal patients, family members of those who have committed suicide on the bridge, and at least one survivor of a bridge suicide attempt. But those opposed to the plan say a barrier would ruin the bridge's architectural and aesthetic beauty.
[Editor's note: According to a similar story on this subject from San Diego Union-Tribune (02/25/05), the Golden Gate Bridge has been a magnet for people who want to commit suicide. Each year, about 20 people commit suicide by climbing over the bridge's 4½-foot-high rail. About 1,300 people have taken their own lives since the bridge opened in 1937.]

"School shooters elude profiling, easy answers"
Saint Paul Pioneer Press (04/11/04) Ruben Rosario
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/ (registration required)

With school shootings in the national spotlight, answers to the problem of school violence remain elusive. But a two-year-old report issued by the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education sheds some light on the subject. According to the report, which studied 37 school shootings since 1974, virtually all of the shootings were planned, and other people knew about the attacker's intentions beforehand. Additionally, there is no accurate or useful way of 'profiling' students who engage in targeted school violence, though most attackers gave out some behavioral warning signs prior to the shooting incidents. Many of the attackers felt bullied by others and had considered or attempted suicide, according to the report. In many cases, other students were involved in the attacks. Furthermore, most incidents were stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention, despite prompt police responses. The report notes that stopping a determined shooter is nearly impossible, but offers suggestions to reduce the likelihood of such attacks. The report suggests improving communication between adults and children, and encouraging students who are aware of a fellow student's intentions to notify authorities, among other things.
[Editor's note: To read the Secret Service final report and findings on school attacks, and a guide to threat assessments in schools.
visit http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac_ssi.shtml

Florida: House and Senate pass 'Stand Your Ground' deadly force bill
"Lawmakers in Florida back public use of deadly force"
Reuters (04/06/05)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28337-2005Apr5.html