Operationalizing Power in Health Law: The Hospital Abolition Hypothesis

Abstract

This symposium Article describes how prison abolitionist arguments also support the hypothesis that a defining goal of health law should be the abolition of hospitals. Like prison abolitionism, the hospital abolition hypothesis can provide a constructive way to shift the focus of legal analysis from substantive dimensions (in health law-cost, quality, access, and equity) to the dimension of power.

Keywords: Hospital Abolition, Health Law, Health Quality, Health Access, Equity, criminal law, prison abolitio