The proposed appointment of Robert F Kennedy Jr as Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS) has provoked howls of outrage from many prominent figures in the US medical, bioethical and public health establishment. No doubt it was intended to do so. One does not have to accept his answers to many of the key questions in US health policy – and I mostly do not – to recognize that these issues have long been around and unresolved, not least by some of the most vocal critics…
…Perhaps some of RFK Jr’s critics should acknowledge that they have had a very long time to do something about US health policy – and not achieved very much. It is, of course, questionable how much a new broom can accomplish in the face of the political clout of Big Pharma and Big Food, especially as expressed through a Trump Administration. However, it might be more productive to focus on mobilizing support for the shared goals, and debating the means, than simply trashing a man who was previously something of a liberal hero for his work on environmental justice.
A Social Science Space Blog