Lawyers, is this judge empowered to invoke a temporary restraining order of the Executive Branch? Is a restraining order a tool that can be applied so finely, by enjoining a contractor to eliminate just one of thousands of rules?
Separately, does this judge think that it can be turned off, just for this individual, immediately? Temporarily? Without adversely affecting anyone else, or, conceivably, everyone else on the waiting list? There are no news releases from the court, from HHS, or from UNOS.
My guess is that this is likely to have introduced paralysis at UNOS while lawyers for both UNOS and HHS decide whether to comply, and if so, how. In the meantime, lung allocation will be at a standstill. Even if there is no delay due to legal wrangling, and all administrators immediately authorize compliance, the change must be coded. The changed code must be tested. The tested new code must be incorporated into the existing allocation code. The change must be tested. This can be done in parallel, so operation of the allocation code can continue during development and testing, but that doesn't comply with the judge's order. Any allocation done after his order that doesn't include his change violates his order. This is because none of the allocation rules exists in isolation.
Each donor candidate is evaluated for recovery of all possible organs and tissues, most going separately to diverse individual recipients, but many going as multi-organ transplants, often heart and lungs together. Even a single change to the complex rule set for one organ for one individual affects all. Does that mean there have been no allocations since yesterday's ruling? If there have, does that mean Secretary Sebelius is not complying with the order? Even if he decides she's not complying with his ruling, what recourse does he have except to stop allocation for everyone, including the child he thinks he's benefited, until the code can be changed? Note that the IT overhaul at UNOS has been ongoing for years and has already cost millions of dollars, not even a majority of which has been funded by HHS.
Whether or not the judge has the legal authority to make the order he did, it seems he did it without regard for the complexity of the system, nor regard for the established process for change. Even if one agrees with the justification cited, is this an acceptable way to implement change?
Topic: District Court Judge Assumes Organ Allocation Authority in the U.S. (Read 5899 times)