State Based Bioethics
The catch was that to make an "A" in the course you had to get the bill formally introduced into the state legislature of your choosing. It was a weird experiment that drew the attention of the Times at a time when I believe I might have been the only liberal out there who wanted to see states take the initiative on stem cell research. Lots of fascinating people helped teach the students about health policy and lobbying. A number of the bills from "A" students were actually passed, including several that are now actually law in the area of genetic discrimination and even cloning.
I don't teach that course anymore, but I have been more than persuaded that the motivation was right on the money: students and policymakers alike are clueless about the relationship between scholarly bioethics and state policy. And when it came time for big powerful states like California to deal with the matter of funding something on the scope of stem cell research, it showed.
Now comes Josh Braun, who gets it. In "The New Federalism" just out in Seed, he asks these questions of several other folks - what happens when science and bioethics goes to the states?