from the warning-label-indeed dept
Six former Surgeons General have gotten together to publicly pen an opinion piece in the Washington Post about the dangers of RFK Jr. The post is fairly long and, frankly, reads as though all six of them are part of a Techdirt fan club for posts about Kennedy. As the post cycles through what Kennedy is doing that represent this danger, it’s the greatest hits from our own posts on Kennedy. The exodus of talent from HHS and its child agencies. The mismanaged measles outbreak that became the worst in decades and resulted in 3 deaths, including one child. The non-stop misinformation about vaccines. The dangerous rhetoric in the wake of the Atlanta CDC shooting, rhetoric that led to the shooter firing hundreds of rounds at the CDC’s campus. And, of course, the bizarre turn towards blaming acetaminophen for rising autism rates.
Yet Kennedy continues to ignore science and the public’s wishes. Most recently, HHS proposed new warning labels on products containing acetaminophen (Tylenol), citing a supposed link between prenatal use and autism. This move has been widely condemned by the scientific and medical communities, who have pointed out that the available research is inconclusive and insufficient to justify such a warning. In an extraordinary and unprecedented response, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other leading health organizations issued public guidance urging physicians and patients to disregard HHS’s recommendation. Instead of helping pregnant women make informed decisions during a critical period in their lives, Kennedy’s decisions risk causing confusion, fear and harm.
Rather than combating the rapid spread of health misinformation with facts and clarity, Kennedy is amplifying it. The consequences aren’t abstract. They are measured in lives lost, disease outbreaks and an erosion of public trust that will take years to rebuild.
This is all stuff you’ve read about here and elsewhere already. And it’s not terribly surprising that any number of doctors and healthcare professionals, including these six, would be vocally against the blatantly anti-medicine, anti-science activity that is currently being conducted at HHS.
But, in the interest of progressing this past a never ending shriek-fest about how obviously horrible Kennedy is at his current post, it’s important to note just how bipartisan this all is. These six Surgeons General were appointed across six administrations, including one of them twice. They were appointed by both Bushes, Clinton, Obama, Biden, and, yes, Trump himself. And all six are unequivocal that this has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with protecting the health of our nation.
As former U.S. surgeons general appointed by every Republican and Democratic president since George H.W. Bush, we have collectively spent decades in service as the Nation’s Doctor. We took two sacred oaths in our lifetimes: first, as physicians who swore to care for our patients and, second, as public servants who committed to protecting the health of all Americans.
Today, in keeping with those oaths, we are compelled to speak with one voice to say that the actions of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are endangering the health of the nation. Never before have we issued a joint public warning like this. But the profound, immediate and unprecedented threat that Kennedy’s policies and positions pose to the nation’s health cannot be ignored.
Yes, this. Too much of our politics has been turned into a sporting event, where we have our teams and back them not because they’re right, but because we’re fans. And that makes all kinds of sense in sports, but makes zero sense at all in politics. And it makes even less sense when we’re talking about matters of public health.
A “loss” for one side can actually be a real loss for everyone. And the converse is true. Because if what is actually winning is science and medicine, that benefits us all whether its detractors agree or not. And, sure, scientists can get things wrong. Doctors can, too.
But the question is this: is everyone on this bipartisan list of former Surgeons General all wrong, stupid, corrupt, and compromised… or is RFK Jr. at least one of those things? The answer, it seems to me, should be obvious.
Filed Under: cdc, health and human services, rfk jr., surgeon general
