306.660.01
Legal and Public Health Issues in the Regulation of intimacy
Location
East Baltimore
Term
4th Term
Department
Health Policy and Management
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2025 - 2026
Instruction Method
In-person
Tu, Th, 3:30 - 4:50pm
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
Yes
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
Enrollment Restriction
Priority given to MPH students; open to undergraduates when space is available
Examines the ways in which the state regulates intimate and private relations and the justifications for such regulation. Particularly focuses on the attention paid to the public health and morality justifications offered by the state for the enactment and enforcement of privacy laws. Topics include: when state regulation of intimate decisions, actions and relationships is justified; the regulation of consensual sexual activity; the regulation of contraception and abortion; the regulation of same-sex sexual activity; and the regulation of same-sex marriage.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Define the constitutional concept of “privacy” as protected by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution
- Evaluate the state justifications for regulating intimate and private decisions, actions and relations
- Describe the complex relationship between individual autonomy and the public good
- Analyze the substantive law on privacy topics, including abortion, contraception, marital and non-marital intimate relations, same-sex intimate relations and same-sex marriage
- Evaluate the reasoning of judicial opinions on privacy topics
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 10% Participation
- 40% Final Paper
- 30% Written comments
- 20% Presentation(s)