FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History
Abstract
At least two proposals have been offered by prominent members of the medical community to establish “Medical Impairment Panels” to monitor the health of Presidents of the United States and to facilitate the implementation of relevant Sections of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. The first discussed in this Article was made by Dr. Herbert Abrams, a now deceased professor of radiology at Stanford University; the second by Dr. Bert Park, a prominent Missouri neurosurgeon. Dr. Abrams and Dr. Park spoke and wrote about their plans frequently over the years. The objective of each proposal was to ensure that the Vice President, the Cabinet, and Congress are informed as to situations when a President might be seriously impaired in terms of carrying out his or her official responsibilities as President of the United States. This Article assesses each proposal in turn