Health Care in Prisons, Jails and Detention Centers: Some Legal and Ethical Dilemmas

摘要

Some of the legal and ethical dilemmas that arise for health care personnel working in correctional settings are addressed. An inmate's Eighth Amendment right to medical care is considered and the ways that that constitutional right might conflict with the institution's mandate to confine and punish are analyzed. Among the issues considered are hormone therapy maintenance for transsexuals, strip and cavity searches, confidentiality, and the inmate's right to refuse treatment. A question-and-answer session with the medical director of the Spofford Juvenile Center in New York City highlights some of the problems faced by juveniles in correctional facilities.