
Michael Ulrich
Assistant Professor of Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights, Health Law, Policy & Management, BU School of Public Health
BS, University of Maryland, College Park
JD, University of Maryland
MPH, Harvard School of Public Health
Biography
Michael Ulrich is Assistant Professor of Health Law, Ethics, & Human Rights at Boston University’s School of Public Health and School of Law. His scholarship focuses on the intersection of public health, constitutional law, bioethics, and social justice, with an emphasis on the role of law in the health outcomes of marginalized and underserved populations. Professor Ulrich co-authored the 3d edition of Public Health Law (with Mariner, Annas, & Huberfeld), the leading casebook in the field. His writings have appeared in national and international journals, including Hastings Law Journal, Journal of Law, Medicine, & Ethics, Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, & Ethics, SMU Law Review, Yale Journal of Law & Feminism, George Washington International Law Review, Health Affairs, British Medical Journal, American Journal of Law & Medicine, Northeastern Law Review, and American Journal of Bioethics. Professor Ulrich has received national recognition for his scholarship, having been selected as a Health Law Scholar by the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, and a Public Law Junior Scholar by the American Constitution Society. His work has also been cited in briefs, including to the United States Supreme Court. Professor Ulrich has been a guest on This Week in Health Law Podcast as well as NPR numerous times, with his work and comments also appearing in NBC News, Slate, Daily Beast, The Appeal, and the Dallas Observer. Professor Ulrich’s teaching was recognized by his department peers with the Excellence in Teach Award in 2019. Prior to joining the BU faculty, Professor Ulrich was Research Scholar, Senior Fellow in Health Law, & Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School, where he helped launch and run the Solomon Center for Health Law & Policy at Yale Law School with Faculty Director Abbe Gluck. He also served as a bioethicist in the Division of AIDS, at the National Institutes of Health.
- Profile Types
- Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Professors & Clinical Instructors
- Areas of Interest
- Constitutional Law and Health Law
Publications
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Michael Ulrich, The Second Amendment’s Second Sex 134 Yale Law Journal Forum (2024)
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Nicole Huberfeld, Elizabeth McCuskey & Michael Ulrich, The US Presidential Election’s High Stakes for the Future of Medicine JAMA (2024)
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Michael Ulrich, Practicing Medicine in the Culture Wars — Gender-Affirming Care and the Battles over Clinician Autonomy 390 The New England Journal of Law and Medicine (2024)
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Michael Ulrich & Arpita Khanna, Inclusivity as Fairness 24 The American Journal of Bioethics (2024)
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Leah R. Fowler, Anya E. R. Prince & Michael Ulrich, The Limits of a Voluntary Framework in an Unethical Data Ecosystem 23 The American Journal of Bioethics (2023)
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Michael Ulrich & Leah R. Fowler, Continuous Reproductive Surveillance 51 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (2023)
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Rachel Martin & Michael Ulrich, Firearm Contagion: A New Look at History 51 Fordham Urban Law Journal (2023)
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Leah R. Fowler & Michael Ulrich, Femtechnodystopia 75 Stanford Law Review (2023)
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Gray Babbs, Hill Landon Wolfe, Michael Ulrich, Julia Raifman & Sarah Ketchen Lipson, Sexual and Gender Minority University Students Report Distress Due to Discriminatory Health Care Policies Stigma and Health (2023)
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Michael Ulrich, FOREWORD: Finding Balance in the Fight Against Gun Violence 51 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (2023)
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Michael Ulrich, Chapter 18: Vaccines, Masks, and Conceptions of Harm: The Future of Public Health Mandates, in The Legal and Social Ramifications of Pandemics on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (Claire L. Parins,2023)
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Michael Ulrich, Why Money Is Well Spent on Time 24 AMA Journal of Ethics (2022)
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Michael Ulrich, Balancing Rights and Responsibilities: The Role of Government and Citizens in Combatting Gun Violence 704 The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (2022)
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Michael Ulrich, Public Carry versus Public Health — The Harms to Come from the Supreme Court’s Decision in Bruen 387 The New England Journal of Law and Medicine (2022)
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Claire Sontheimer & Michael Ulrich, Addressing Stigma and False Beliefs About Mental Health: A New Direction for Mental Health Parity Advocacy 31 Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences (2022)
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Michael Ulrich, Second Amendment Realism 43 Cardozo Law Review (2022)
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Michael Ulrich, E-Racing Tobacco & Nicotine-Related Health Disparities 77 Food and Drug Law Journal (2022)
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Sondra S. Crosby, Michael Ulrich & George J. Annas, Chapter 28. Law, Migration, and Health in the US Context, in Migration and Health (Sandro Galea, Catherine K. Ettman, and Muhammad H. Zaman,2022)
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Michael Ulrich & Sondra S. Crosby, Title 42, asylum, and politicising public health 7 The Lancet (2021)
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Michael Ulrich, Litigation as Education: The Role of Public Health to Prevent Weaponizing Second Amendment Rights 13 Northeastern University Law Review (2021)
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Michael Ulrich, Pedagogy and Policy: A Tribute to Karen Rothenberg’s Contributions to Health Law 22 Journal of Health Care Law and Policy (2020)
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Michael Ulrich, State Handgun Purchase Age Minimums in the US and Adolescent Suicide Rates: 370 British Medical Journal (2020)
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Michael Ulrich, A Public Health Law Path for Second Amendment Jurisprudence 71 Hastings Law Journal (2020)
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Michael Ulrich, A Public Health Approach to Gun Violence, Legally Speaking 47 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (2019)
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Wendy K. Mariner, George J. Annas, Nicole Huberfeld & Michael Ulrich, Public Health Law, 3rd ed. (2019)
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Michael Ulrich, Revisionist History? Responding to Gun Violence Under Historical Limitations 45 American Journal of Law and Medicine (2019)
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Michael Ulrich & Julia Raifman, How Religious Refusal Laws Are Harming Sexual Minorities Health Affairs (2018)
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Wendy K. Mariner & Michael Ulrich, Quarantine and the Federal Role in Epidemics 71 Southern Methodist University Law Review (2018)
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Megan Wright, Claudia Kraft, Michael Ulrich & Joseph Fins, Disorders of Consciousness, Agency, and Health Care Decision Making: Lessons from a Developmental Model 9 American Journal of Bioethics: Neuroscience (2018)
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Michael Ulrich, Pregnant Women and Equitable Access to Emergency Medical Care 18 American Journal of Bioethics (2018)
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Michael Ulrich, Guardianship and Clinical Research Participation: The Case of Wards with Disorders of Consciousness 27 Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal (2017)
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Michael Ulrich, Decreasing Smoking but Increasing Stigma? Anti-tobacco Campaigns, Public Health, and Cancer Care 19 American Medical Association Journal of Ethic (2017)
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Michael Ulrich, Law and Politics, an Emerging Epidemic: A Call for Evidence-Based Public Health Law 42 American Journal of Law and Medicine (2016)
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Joseph Fins, Megan Wright, Claudia Kraft, Alix Rogers, Marina Romani, Samantha Godwin & Michael Ulrich, Whither the "Improvement Standard"? Coverage for Severe Brain Injury after Jimmo v. Sebelius 44 Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (2016)
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Michael Ulrich, Challenges for People with Disabilities within the Health Care Safety Net 15 Yake Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics (2015)
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Michael Ulrich, The Impact of Law on the Right to Water and Adding Normative Change to the Global Agenda 48 George Washington International Law Review (2015)
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Michael Ulrich, Guidance from Vaccination Jurisprudence 13 American Journal of Bioethics (2013)
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Michael Ulrich, The Duty to Rescue in Genomic Research 13 American Journal of Bioethics (2013)
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Michael Ulrich, With Child, Without Rights?: Restoring a Pregnant Woman's Right to Refuse Medical Treatment Through the HIV Lens 24 Yale Journal of Law & Feminism (2012)
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Michael Ulrich, A Federal Compulsory Vaccination Plan 10 Journal of Emergency Management (2012)
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Michael Ulrich, Resource Restraints: Rethinking Disclosure of Individual Genomic Findings 17 Michigan State University Journal of Medicine and Law (2012)
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Michael Ulrich, Researchers Without Borders?: Limiting Obligations of Ancillary Care Through the Rescue Model Vanderbilt Law School Health Law and Public Policy Forum (2011)
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Michael Ulrich, Follow the Leader?: Maryland's Response to the New Federal Stem Cell Guidelines 14 Journal of Health Care Law & Policy Appendix, (2011)
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Michael Ulrich, NIH Guidelines on Human Stem Cell Research in Context: Clarity or Confusion? 2010 World Stem Cell Report (2010)
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In the Media
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CNN February 21, 2025
Trump’s Team Is Using Project 2025 as a Blueprint to Make Changes to Federal Health Programs
Nicole Huberfeld, Elizabeth McCuskey, and Michael R. Ulrich's research is mentioned.
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The Washington Post February 19, 2025
Trump Says There Are ‘Two Sexes.’ Experts and Science Say It’s Not Binary.
Michael Ulrich is quoted.
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JAMA Network January 13, 2025
United States v Skrmetti—Testing the Transition to Politicized Regulation of Medicine
Nicole Huberfeld and Michael R. Ulrich pen an opinion.
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BU Today December 3, 2024
Supreme Court to Hear Case about Bans on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth on Wednesday
Nicole Huberfeld and Michael Ulrich are quoted.
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Yale Daily News November 18, 2024
Law School Hosts Panel on How United States v. Skrmetti Puts Transgender Healthcare on the Line
Michael Ulrich is quoted.
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The 19th October 31, 2024
How the Supreme Court Case on Trans Youth Could Affect Health Care for All Americans
Michael Ulrich is quoted.
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The Boston Globe October 29, 2024
Massachusetts Grapples with Fallout from Landmark Supreme Court Gun Ruling
Michael Ulrich is quoted.
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Southeast Texas Record October 9, 2024
UHLC Health Law Scholars Fowler and Mantel Highlighted in Jotwell Peer Review
Michael Ulrich is mentioned.
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BU Today October 4, 2024
New Supreme Court Term Kicks Off with “Ghost Guns” Case
Michael R. Ulrich is interviewed.
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JAMA Network September 20, 2024
The US Presidential Election’s High Stakes for the Future of Medicine
Nicole Huberfeld, Elizabeth McCuskey, and Michael Ulrich pen an opinion.
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BU Today June 21, 2024
Court Upholds Gun Ban for Those Accused of Domestic Violence; BU LAW Expert Explains
Michael Ulrich is quoted.
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Bloomberg Law January 2, 2024
Abortion, Drug Pricing Top Biden List of 2024 Health Challenges
Michael Ulrich is quoted.
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Yale Daily News September 14, 2023
Yale Law School Holds Panel on Upcoming Second Amendment SCOTUS Case
Michael Ulrich is quoted.
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Tewksbury Town Crier August 5, 2023
Outbreak! Student Program Returns to PHM
Michael Ulrich is mentioned.
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LGBTQ Nation August 1, 2023
Biden Administration Urged to Add Gender-Affirming Care to Proposed Abortion Rights Protections
Michael Ulrich is quoted.
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Activities & Engagements
No upcoming activities or engagements.