[theapportioner]

My "ass-backwardness" comment isn't directed at SCOTUS decision itself, but Justice Kennedy's fatuous and obsolete comments on mother-child relationship, which IMO are abhorrent and irrelevant to the decision.

And look, medicine isn't what it was sixty years ago. After an era of Nazi doctors, Tuskegee, lobotomy, and a whole host of other sorry chapters, the profession is probably more vigilant than ever when it comes to averting issues of this kind. Not to mention, it is also now highly regulated (and I consider this a good thing generally). Many physicians and people working in public health are also at the forefront when it comes to exposing cases of torture, gross disparities in access to health care and treatment, deplorable practices of greed by the pharmaceutical industry, challenging the death penalty, etc.

Do these lapses in ethics still happen? Of course. However, IMO, we should also resist a government that ignores evidence-based medicine, benchtop scientific results, and most importantly, the basic human rights and needs of the patient in pursuing these silly crusades (see medical marijuana and the drug war generally, euthanasia, contraception, and yes, abortion). People who adopt a view on these matters should also take these considerations into account.

Edit for full disclosure: I am a part of the medical profession.