Allan J. Jacobs - Assigning Responsibility for Children’s Health When Parents and Authorities Disagree: Whose Child?

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This book is the product of a lifetime of experience and study.

Richard L. OBrien, M.D., M.S., and Norman Gant, M.D., remain my models for professionalism. Both set high intellectual and humanitarian standards, which I hope I have upheld. Dr. OBrien did more to influence me as a person than anyone except my wife and my parents.

My wife, Pamela Jacobs, JD, Ph.D., was my muse, teacher, and supporter as I wrote this book. She did more than tolerate the time I lent to this effort. She introduced me to various fields of psychology. Our conversations provided me with many ideas and sharpened others. Pam has read the entire manuscript critically. Every page of this book bears her imprint. This would have been a far different and worse book without her input.

Kavita Shah Arora, M.D., MBE, helped me refine my ideas regarding the State Intervention Test, as did Hillel Levin, JD. Several of our collaborations are cited in this book. Other scholars who have read and provided useful suggestions about portions of this book include Johan C. Bester, M.D., Ph.D., Raphael Cohen-Almagor, Ph.D., Jules Gleicher, Ph.D., Yakov Korach, M.D., and Maury Silver, Ph.D.

I also wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for reading the book and offering valuable suggestions.

I alone am responsible for the content of this book, of course.

I am grateful to Floor Oosting, the Editorial Director at Springer Humanities, for her confidence in me, and for patiently waiting for the manuscript, which was delayed by a change in authorship and by the coronavirus pandemic. I appreciate, too, the help of Christopher Wilby of the Springer editorial staff.

Finally, I thank my children, Tamara Block, Sarah Jacobs, and Ethan Jacobs for their support and inspiration.

The opinions expressed in this book are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily represent the opinions of the New York City Health + Hospitals Corporation, the Physicians Associate Group of New York, the State University of New York, or any other organization with which the author is affiliated.

Statements about laws and medical facts are believed to reflect the state of knowledge at the time the author wrote them. They are subject to change, however, and should not be construed as statements of legal or medical fact at the time this book is read. All statements about law or medicine are meant as general statements, and are not to be construed as legal or medical advice, or applicable to the personal circumstances of any individual.