January 5, 2017
No single public health event since the Ebola crisis has sparked as much global concern as the Zika virus. As is the case with many health risks, awareness, education and access to information are key factors when it comes to illness prevention.
In Mitigating Risks to Pregnant Teens from Zika Virus, LSI Faculty Fellows Andrew Maynard, Diana Bowman and James Hodge, Jr., discuss preventing maternal fetal transmission of the mosquito-borne virus, Zika. The concern with Zika is not simply the often-cited alarming potential for microcephaly but the development of additional health defects that become apparent as a child grows.
The authors note the potential for a precarious trifecta in particular U.S. states due to elevated teen pregnancy rates, the estimated spread of Zika and onerous abortion laws. The article discusses these issues and provides recommendations for public health policy changes in response to the highlighted problems and possible health threats.
The article is published in The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Vol. 44:4 Winter 2016, a journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics www.aslme.org