Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
@medlawdan.bsky.social
Hi! Law prof in Utah (@SJQuinney). Public health, legal systems, corporate power, FDA. 🏳️🌈 He, him.
My cat is adorbs - Dolly, forever a kitten. Views are my own. RT ≠ endorse
My cat is adorbs - Dolly, forever a kitten. Views are my own. RT ≠ endorse
Pinned
States are justifying their bans of transgender health care on a 388-page report called the Cass Review. Supreme Court justices have invoked it.
Today, in @nejm.org, Craig Konnoth and I conclude the report is unsound because it departs from standards in medical law, policy, and practice. 🧵(1/12)
Today, in @nejm.org, Craig Konnoth and I conclude the report is unsound because it departs from standards in medical law, policy, and practice. 🧵(1/12)
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
“Today, family separations are back, only now they are happening all across the country.” www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record.
Under a zero tolerance policy, the first Trump administration separated immigrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. New data suggests separations are happening all over the count...
www.propublica.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:38 AM
“Today, family separations are back, only now they are happening all across the country.” www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
As we all wait for Callais to come down, our piece showing that Shelby County increased the racial turnout gap in most of the covered parts of the country has cleared the replication check and is incoming at JOP.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
November 24, 2025 at 12:47 AM
As we all wait for Callais to come down, our piece showing that Shelby County increased the racial turnout gap in most of the covered parts of the country has cleared the replication check and is incoming at JOP.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
Gutting the VRA was bad, actually.
In this cross-sectional study among 21 396 physicians and nurses, . . .
[p]hysician outcomes were better in hospitals with adequate nurse staffing, supportive care environments, and effective interdisciplinary teamwork."
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
[p]hysician outcomes were better in hospitals with adequate nurse staffing, supportive care environments, and effective interdisciplinary teamwork."
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Informing Hospital Physician Well-Being Interventions in Europe and the US
This cross-sectional study investigates physician well-being and the association of hospital care environment aspects with physician job outcomes in 6 European countries and the US.
jamanetwork.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:19 PM
In this cross-sectional study among 21 396 physicians and nurses, . . .
[p]hysician outcomes were better in hospitals with adequate nurse staffing, supportive care environments, and effective interdisciplinary teamwork."
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
[p]hysician outcomes were better in hospitals with adequate nurse staffing, supportive care environments, and effective interdisciplinary teamwork."
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
NEW: FDA review staff was excluded from voting on whether to approve first priority voucher drug. Top leaders like Vinay Prasad, George Tidmarsh, and Tracy Høeg led the vote instead. Read for the full list, and expert reaction from @hollylynchez.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2025/11/21/t...
FDA review staff was excluded from voting on whether to approve first priority voucher drug
Top officials like Vinay Prasad and George Tidmarsh voted on the drug, a major break from the FDA's typical practice.
www.statnews.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:33 PM
NEW: FDA review staff was excluded from voting on whether to approve first priority voucher drug. Top leaders like Vinay Prasad, George Tidmarsh, and Tracy Høeg led the vote instead. Read for the full list, and expert reaction from @hollylynchez.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2025/11/21/t...
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
For no particular reason, a thread of books on presidential power that I recommend. 🧵📚
November 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM
For no particular reason, a thread of books on presidential power that I recommend. 🧵📚
"In an extraordinary 12-page letter, the former [UVA] president, James E. Ryan, said the school’s board had been unwilling to take on the Trump administration and had essentially traded his resignation for a deal to spare the school investigations and fines."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
Former U.Va. President Details Justice Department Pressure That Led to Ouster
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:21 PM
"In an extraordinary 12-page letter, the former [UVA] president, James E. Ryan, said the school’s board had been unwilling to take on the Trump administration and had essentially traded his resignation for a deal to spare the school investigations and fines."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/u...
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
NEW from @theresagaff.bsky.social and @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social: FDA reverses decades-old warning on hormone therapy products for menopause
www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/f...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/f...
FDA reverses decades-old warning on hormone therapy products for menopause
The FDA is reversing a 2003 decision that put a stringent warning on hormone therapy products for menopausal women, saying that the treatments offer heart, brain, and bone health benefits.
www.statnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:07 PM
NEW from @theresagaff.bsky.social and @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social: FDA reverses decades-old warning on hormone therapy products for menopause
www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/f...
www.statnews.com/2025/11/10/f...
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
NEW: On the shadow docket, the Supreme Court lets Trump resume misgendering trans Americans on their passports, claiming "the government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment." All three liberals dissent. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
![This case concerns an Executive Branch policy requiring
all new passports to display an individual’s biological sex at
birth. The United States District Court for the District of
Massachusetts preliminarily enjoined the Government
from enforcing the policy, and the First Circuit declined to
stay the injunction pending appeal. The Government then
filed this stay application. Applying our familiar stay fac-
tors at this preliminary stage, we grant the application.
Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends
equal protection principles than displaying their country of
birth—in both cases, the Government is merely attesting to
a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential
treatment. And on this record, respondents have failed to
establish that the Government’s choice to display biological
sex “lack[s] any purpose other than a bare . . . desire to
harm a politically unpopular group.” Trump v. Hawaii, 585
U. S. 667, 705 (2018) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Nor are respondents likely to prevail in arguing that the
State Department acted arbitrarily and capriciously by de-
clining to depart from Presidential rules that Congress ex-
pressly required it to follow. See 22 U. S. C. §211a.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:6h7b2i6ttw3l4t7pvbvxdith/bafkreiacrtgoecxjy5y7ojz7xzbun4c4nwutjcvqn4qb4p25ldpt6va5lu@jpeg)
November 6, 2025 at 8:16 PM
NEW: On the shadow docket, the Supreme Court lets Trump resume misgendering trans Americans on their passports, claiming "the government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment." All three liberals dissent. www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
"We crave simple solutions to complex problems. When data disappoint, we substitute belief. . . . Regulators see public demand and think, why stand in the way? The phrase 'worth a try' becomes federal policy."
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/q... via @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/q... via @statnews.com
A sports device to ‘protect the brain’ illustrates a major problem with the FDA de novo pathway
“This is not just about one device. It’s about what happens when institutions grow comfortable living in their own ambiguity and hiding behind opacity.”
www.statnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 1:39 PM
"We crave simple solutions to complex problems. When data disappoint, we substitute belief. . . . Regulators see public demand and think, why stand in the way? The phrase 'worth a try' becomes federal policy."
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/q... via @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/q... via @statnews.com
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
Watch video: In an interview with Medical Economics, Professor David Simon @davidasimon.bsky.social explores the emerging liability questions that will shape healthcare‘s AI future. @medicaleconomics.bsky.social
www.medicaleconomics.com/view/definin...
www.medicaleconomics.com/view/definin...
Defining AI liability: A conversation with David A. Simon, J.D., LL.M., Ph.D. | Medical Economics
How will artificial intelligence reshape the rules of medical malpractice? Northeastern University’s David Simon unpacks the legal, ethical and practical dilemmas now confronting physicians, hospitals...
www.medicaleconomics.com
October 31, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Watch video: In an interview with Medical Economics, Professor David Simon @davidasimon.bsky.social explores the emerging liability questions that will shape healthcare‘s AI future. @medicaleconomics.bsky.social
www.medicaleconomics.com/view/definin...
www.medicaleconomics.com/view/definin...
"staffers are terrified of pushing back on Prasad, lest they face retaliation. The fear has been fueled by Prasad pushing at least seven senior leaders out of their positions, employees told STAT, and offering no public explanations...The center has lost hundreds of employees"
"CBER employees are concerned that the exodus of employees and the worsening morale problems will affect the functioning of the center, which ensures the safety and efficacy of vaccines and helps speed potentially lifesaving therapies to rare disease patients."
EXCLUSIVE: A slow-boiling feud between Vinay Prasad and his staff at the FDA is threatening the future of the center that regulates the nation’s vaccines, biological products, and blood supply. Read more here:
www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/v...
www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/v...
October 31, 2025 at 4:02 PM
"staffers are terrified of pushing back on Prasad, lest they face retaliation. The fear has been fueled by Prasad pushing at least seven senior leaders out of their positions, employees told STAT, and offering no public explanations...The center has lost hundreds of employees"
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
Monthly reminder! Lots of advanced notice! Get yer papers in (before mid January, for priority consideration)! Come hang with me in Lawrence in April!
Call for Papers for 15th Annual Fed Courts Junior Scholars conference is now up: law.ku.edu/junior-facul.... Lots of advanced notice, hope you will consider submitting!
Will work on distributing this to various listservs and blogs, but please share if you are able.
Will work on distributing this to various listservs and blogs, but please share if you are able.
15th Annual Junior Faculty Federal Courts Workshop
April 24, 2026| KU School of Law
law.ku.edu
October 30, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Monthly reminder! Lots of advanced notice! Get yer papers in (before mid January, for priority consideration)! Come hang with me in Lawrence in April!
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
Register for our 40th annual Fordham Debate, held Nov. 20 from 12-1:30 p.m. Earn CLE and hear @jameeljaffer.bsky.social and Professor Nadine Strossen debate merits, drawbacks + dimensions of institutional neutrality and related academic freedom issues.
lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/pz5fgzg
lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/pz5fgzg
October 28, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Register for our 40th annual Fordham Debate, held Nov. 20 from 12-1:30 p.m. Earn CLE and hear @jameeljaffer.bsky.social and Professor Nadine Strossen debate merits, drawbacks + dimensions of institutional neutrality and related academic freedom issues.
lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/pz5fgzg
lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/pz5fgzg
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
It took over 4 years, but the paper is finally published. In this study, we developed novel methods drawn from #LegalEpidemiology to map addiction #stigma in California law.
This #interdisciplinary work was conceptually and methodologically difficult!⤵️
#PaperSky #EpiSky #AcademicSky
1/
This #interdisciplinary work was conceptually and methodologically difficult!⤵️
#PaperSky #EpiSky #AcademicSky
1/
Targeting Addiction Structural Stigma Embodied in Law (“TASSEL”): Findings from an intrastate legal mapping study
Stigma is a fundamental cause of disease that reflects and intensifies health inequalities. Laws are powerful mediators for stigma; to correct them, i…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:31 AM
It took over 4 years, but the paper is finally published. In this study, we developed novel methods drawn from #LegalEpidemiology to map addiction #stigma in California law.
This #interdisciplinary work was conceptually and methodologically difficult!⤵️
#PaperSky #EpiSky #AcademicSky
1/
This #interdisciplinary work was conceptually and methodologically difficult!⤵️
#PaperSky #EpiSky #AcademicSky
1/
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
This was just posted by a CBS News producer on their Instagram stories.
October 29, 2025 at 9:44 PM
This was just posted by a CBS News producer on their Instagram stories.
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
75% of U.S. researchers (who participated in a poll conducted by Nature) are considering leaving the country.
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
youtu.be
October 30, 2025 at 12:18 AM
75% of U.S. researchers (who participated in a poll conducted by Nature) are considering leaving the country.
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
Important reporting from @lizzylawrence.bsky.social, finding that "[f]ive companies actively applied, while the other four were surprised to learn they were selected after being nominated by reviewers inside the agency." This is another important way the program has changed without public input. 1/4
NEW: I talked with the nine companies that won FDA priority review vouchers and asked them how they did it: www.statnews.com/2025/10/24/h...
How the first nine drug companies won priority review vouchers from Marty Makary’s FDA
The winners include a gene therapy for a rare form of deafness, a drug for vaping addiction, and a generic antibiotic.
www.statnews.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Important reporting from @lizzylawrence.bsky.social, finding that "[f]ive companies actively applied, while the other four were surprised to learn they were selected after being nominated by reviewers inside the agency." This is another important way the program has changed without public input. 1/4
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
1. We ( @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, and I) have a new preprint up on the arXiv.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
October 24, 2025 at 12:47 AM
1. We ( @jbakcoleman.bsky.social, @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, and I) have a new preprint up on the arXiv.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
There we explore how social media companies and other online information technology firms are able to manipulate scientific research about the effects of their products.
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
Not to diminish law review articles & law school committee work, but right now law professors should be working collectively on an intellectual & service project of immense, existential importance: building consensus around a revolutionary constitutional framework-of a Reconstruction 2.0 magnitude.
October 22, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Not to diminish law review articles & law school committee work, but right now law professors should be working collectively on an intellectual & service project of immense, existential importance: building consensus around a revolutionary constitutional framework-of a Reconstruction 2.0 magnitude.
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
Rejecting the Unitary Executive is out in the Utah Law Review! TY @blakeprof.bsky.social @thisyank.bsky.social @jgienapp.bsky.social @andreascoseriakatz.bsky.social @jdmortenson.bsky.social @jedshug.bsky.social
@narosenblum.bsky.social
& many others not on here
dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2025/...
@narosenblum.bsky.social
& many others not on here
dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2025/...
Rejecting the Unitary Executive
Critics have dismissed originalism as an empty methodology. They claim it is incapable of resolving our most important constitutional disputes, including the debate over the unitary executive. While u...
dc.law.utah.edu
October 22, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Rejecting the Unitary Executive is out in the Utah Law Review! TY @blakeprof.bsky.social @thisyank.bsky.social @jgienapp.bsky.social @andreascoseriakatz.bsky.social @jdmortenson.bsky.social @jedshug.bsky.social
@narosenblum.bsky.social
& many others not on here
dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2025/...
@narosenblum.bsky.social
& many others not on here
dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2025/...
Reviewing cases like Talevski, Medina, and Moyle, a new article by Nicole Huberfeld examines the wave of challenges to the federal power to condition spending on state participation. She concludes that federal and state programs are at risk.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Spending Programs and the New Roberts Court
<p>The Supreme Court is poised to place new limits on Congress’s spending power at the urging of states vying for regulatory dominance, particularly in health c
papers.ssrn.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reviewing cases like Talevski, Medina, and Moyle, a new article by Nicole Huberfeld examines the wave of challenges to the federal power to condition spending on state participation. She concludes that federal and state programs are at risk.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
This is actually a perfect meme.
Send this to anyone, at any time, for any reason!
Send this to anyone, at any time, for any reason!
October 20, 2025 at 11:19 PM
This is actually a perfect meme.
Send this to anyone, at any time, for any reason!
Send this to anyone, at any time, for any reason!
Reposted by Daniel G. Aaron, MD, JD
I've been thinking about this article for *days* and still can't quite put my finger on what's bugging me about it
ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...
ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...
October 19, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I've been thinking about this article for *days* and still can't quite put my finger on what's bugging me about it
ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...
ourworldindata.org/does-the-new...