Opinion ID: 564944
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Fifth Amendment Due Process Clause

Text: 45 In most circumstances, as Doe observes, the Constitution's due process guarantee protects an individual's liberty to decide whether or not to submit to serious medical treatment. See, e.g., Washington v. Harper, 494 U.S. 210, 110 S.Ct. 1028, 1036-37, 108 L.Ed.2d 178 (1990). In mounting a facial challenge, however, Doe's burden is heavy: he must demonstrate that no possible application of Rule 23(d) can be squared with the Fifth Amendment. See National Treasury Employees Union v. Yeutter, 918 F.2d 968, 975 (D.C.Cir.1990). The very application of Rule 23(d) in Operation Desert Storm, we point out, belies Doe's contention. As the district court stated, two concerns stressed by the DOD constitute legitimate government interests that ... counterbalance an individual's interest in being free from experimental treatment without giving informed consent. Doe v. Sullivan, 756 F.Supp. at 17. First, administering the drugs uniformly prevents unnecessary danger to troops and medical personnel from injury to, or the death of, fellow military personnel in battle. [Also,] the DOD ha[d] an interest in successfully accomplishing the military goals of Operation Desert Storm. Id. We agree with the district court that these considerations rendered compatible with due process the invocation of Rule 23(d) in that particular combat situation. Conceivably, Rule 23(d) might at some future time be applied in violation of the Fifth Amendment; this single constitutionally valid application of the Rule, however, is all that is needed to defeat Doe's facial constitutional challenge.