Professor Brownstein Comments on Church-State Medical Issues for Bee
Professor Alan Brownstein commented for an article in the Sacramento Bee on the issue of whether parents who deny medical treatment to their children as a consequence of religious beliefs should be subject to criminal prosecution. The article focuses on questions surrounding parents who decline to have their children inoculated against the H1N1 virus.
Though the state has a compelling interest in acting "in loco parentis" in cases where the child faces a life-threatening condition, the interest is "more attenuated" with regard to inoculation against a communicable disease that has less likelihood of resulting in death or long-term impairment, Professor Brownstein said.
Professor Alan Brownstein, a nationally recognized Constitutional Law scholar, teaches Constitutional Law, Law and Religion, and Torts at King Hall. He holds the Boochever and Bird Chair for the Study and Teaching of Freedom and Equality.