It's Your Health, Whose Judgement Do You Trust?

Politicians have shown little hesitation in overriding medical judgment when it comes to abortion care, as evidenced by the increasing number of anti-science laws that legislatures have passed over the last several years. The dangerous, and inevitably extreme, articulation of this trend is clearly expressed in one question the U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. The rapid politicizing of health care over the last few years is demonstrated perhaps most clearly in interference with gun safety counseling and the debate over health care reform. Such a slippery slope will likely not be restricted to women’s health. The rise in anti-science laws will ensure that—as is already too often the case with abortion—only a wealthy few will be able to access comprehensive, safe health care. The Court must rule on the side of medicine in Whole Woman’s Health to safeguard reproductive rights, but state and federal legislatures must also act to ensure all areas of health care are free from unnecessary, and even dangerous, governmental interference.