Today, May 18, 2007, ABC News is reporting on the implanting of electronic chips in Alzheimer’s Patients and others. These chips, which are similar to that which are placed in pets, would enable appropriate personnel to obtain vital medical and personal information from these individuals who cannot effectively communicate on there own. The chip is slightly larger than a grain of rice and it is placed in the forearm. An Alzheimer’s Community Care in West Palm Beach is planning to implant these chips in their residents if they obtain consent. This has sparked a protest which ABC News reported on.
This practice raises a whole host of legal and ethical issues that is ripe for law review commentary. Does it violate the right to privacy? Can a guardian consent to this invasive procedure? Is consent even necessary? Can this practice be extended beyond Alzheimer patients? What about new borns and young children, for example? Assuming this chip could be easily removed by a simple surgery, might not this chip provide a measure of protection to children if a new born is lost or stolen from a day care center?
This story also can spur a number of constitutional law hypo’s for exams. Law students-get ready!
Mitchell H. Rubinstein