Episode 45

Roe v. Wade Updates, FDA Bans Menthols, Section 230, Wearable Heath-Tech

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki start with everything that has happened in the week since the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade leaked to the public. Then they turn to the wearable health tech revolution, the FDA moving to ban menthol cigarettes, the debate over Section 230 reform, Amazon firing union organizers, and the push to do away with the LSAT.

SHOW NOTES

Ravi, Cory, and Rikki begin with a big week of developments since the Roe v. Wade leak. They start with protests and safety concerns around abortion providers, anti-abortion groups, and Supreme Court justices before moving onto the political implications of this potential decision and states’ reactions to looming changes in the law. [1:52]

Ravi walks us through the world of wearable health technology, breaking down the myriad benefits that innovative devices can offer to the general population before unpacking the data privacy concerns that accompany much of this technology for all its potential help. [11:42]

Cory explains why the FDA is moving to ban menthol cigarettes and who that ban would end up affecting: predominantly Black smokers. The hosts debate the role of government in this conversation before Rikki transitions to new regulations on vaping. [21:42]

Rikki lays out why Section 230 is the key foundational law underpinning the modern internet as the hosts dive into the many reform proposals across the political spectrum and debate which make sense and which don’t. [30:34]

We close with a couple of updates: Cory runs through Amazon’s recent firings of union organizers in Staten Island and Ravi explains why he still supports the LSAT despite the American Bar Association calling for schools to stop requiring it. [38:00]

What has happened in week since draft Roe v Wade opinion leaked? (Aljazeera, 05/09)
U.S. Senate to vote Wednesday on abortion rights bill, Schumer says (Reuters, 05/09)
Schumer calls for vote to force Republicans to make public stance on abortion (New York Daily News, 05/08)
2022 State Legislative Sessions: Abortion Bans and Restrictions on Medication Abortion Dominate (Guttmacher Institute, 03/16)
Schumer says vote to save Roe is not an ‘abstract exercise’ and ‘is as real and as high stakes as it gets’ (Independent, 05/09)
13 states have passed so-called ‘trigger laws,’ bans designed to go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned (CNN, 05/03)
16 States Have Already Guaranteed the Right to Abortion Once Roe v. Wade Is Overturned (teenVOGUE, 05/03)
Supreme Court latest after Roe v. Wade leak l GMA (ABC News YouTube Channel, 05/09)
Potential Fallout If Roe v. Wade Is Overturned (MSNBC YouTube Channel, 05/04)
Crowds protest at Supreme Court after leaked Roe v. Wade draft opinion (Washington Post YouTube Channel, 05/04)
Supreme Court Strikes Down Abortion Clinic ‘Buffer Zone’ Law (NPR, 06/26/2014)
Ford Fischer Tweet (Twitter, 05/05)
Jack Miller Tweet (Twitter, 05/05)
If Roe Falls, Is Same-Sex Marriage Next? (The New York Times, 05/08)
The Supreme Court’s investigation of the leaked draft opinion (Brookings, 05/06)
The Supreme Court Wants Privacy? So Do We. (Jezebel, 05/09)
Obergefell v. Hodges (Oyez, 2015)
Lawrence v. Texas (Oyez, 2003)
Griswold v. Connecticut (Oyez, 1965)
McCullen v. Coakley (Oyez, 2014)
What are the best wearables? And why does Peter use a continuous glucose monitor? (AMA #1) (Peter Attia MD YouTube Channel, 01/17/2020)
Glow Pregnancy App Exposed Women to Privacy Threats, Consumer Reports Finds (Consumer Reports, 09/17/2020)
Wearable devices are connecting health care to daily life (The Economist, 05/01)
Wearable devices measure a growing array of health indicators (The Economist, 05/01) 
Apps interpreting data from wearable devices are helping people to live better (The Economist, 05/01)
Some health apps are able not just to diagnose diseases, but also to treat them (The Economist, 05/01)
Data from wearable devices are changing disease surveillance and medical research (The Economist, 05/01)
Are continuous glucose monitors a waste of time for people without diabetes? (Peter Attia MD, 06/20/2021)
Start-ups Tout Continuous Glucose Monitoring for People Without Diabetes (JAMA Network, 05/12/2021)
My view on wearables (Peter Attia MD, 04/07/2019)
Research on Data Security and Privacy Protection of Wearable Equipment in Healthcare (National Library of Medicine, 02/05/2021)
Is blood sugar monitoring without diabetes worthwhile? (Harvard Health Publishing, 06/11/2021)
Health Apps and Information Survey (KFF, 09/10/2019)
Separating hype from reality in health tech (Axios, 09/10/2019)
European Wearables Survey (SITRA, 10/15/2020)
Well-being data measurement offers opportunities for creating new innovative services (SITRA, 10/15/2020)
Measuring Wellbeing – Citizen Survey (SITRA, 2020)
Cilliers L. Wearable devices in healthcare: Privacy and information security issues (PUB MED, 05/30/2019)
Jiang, D., & Shi, G. (2021). Research on Data Security and Privacy Protection of Wearable Equipment in Healthcare. Journal of healthcare engineering (PUB MED, 02/05/2021)
Period-tracking apps are not for women (Vox, 11/16/2018)
Ban surveillance-based advertising (Forbrukerrådet, 01/14/2020)
What Your Period Tracker App Knows About You (Consumer Report, 01/28/2020)
The Pentagon is working on an algorithm to detect Covid early (Politico Pro, 02/23)
F.D.A. Moves to Ban Sales of Menthol Cigarettes (The New York Times, 04/28)
No more studies: Menthol cigarettes must be banned now (The Washington Post, 05/06)
NAACP Writes Letter Urging FDA to Ban Menthol Flavored Cigarettes and Flavored Cigar Products (NAACP, 04/20)
The FDA’s Menthol Cigarette Ban Is a ‘Racial Justice’ Issue, but Not in the Way Its Supporters Mean (Reason, 04/28)
Cigarette Smoking Among U.S. Adults Hits All-Time Low (CDC, 11/14/2019)
EU Members Implement Menthol Cigarette Ban (California Associate of Retail Tobacconists, 05/20/2020)
Impact of Canada’s menthol cigarette ban on quitting among menthol smokers: pooled analysis of pre–post evaluation from the ITC Project and the Ontario Menthol Ban Study and projections of impact in the USA (BMJ Journals)
10 Reasons Why the FDA Should Not Ban Menthol Cigarettes (Reason, 04/29/2021)
Perspectives: Why a national ban on menthol cigarettes is the right choice (Harvard T.H. Chan, 05/12/2021)
Greene offers bill to abolish Section 230 (The Hill, 04/28)
Obama calls for tech regulation to combat disinformation on social media (CNBC, 04/21)
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, April 25, 2022 (The White House, 04/25)
Biden’s Strategy To PUNISH Elon Musk For Buying Twitter REVEALED By Jen Psaki: Robby Soave (The Hill YouTube Channel, 04/27)
Section 230 Is the Internet’s First Amendment. Now Both Republicans and Democrats Want To Take It Away (Reason, 07/29/2019)
Fact Check: Elon Musk Buying Twitter Led White House to Target Section 230 (Newsweek, 04/27)
Overview of Section 230: What It Is, Why It Was Created, and What It Has Achieved (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, 02/22/2022)
Amazon fires managers at its pro-union New York City warehouse (Aljazeera, 05/06)
Amazon fires two employees tied to Staten Island union effort (CNBC, 05/09)
American Bar Association May Eliminate Standardized Tests for Admissions (The New York Times, 05/06)
End of the LSAT? Law school entry test is on the chopping block again (Reuters, 05/06)
Ravi Gupta Tweet (Twitter, 05/06)
Should law schools fully embrace the GRE? New report urges caution (Reuters, 10/05/2021)
The Marginalization of Black Aspiring Lawyers (FIU Law Review, 2019)