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Hodge, James

A5136101974 | I55732556

Mayo Clinic

Arizona State University

Citations 1

Public Health Limits of Medical Freedom

Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics | May 14, 2026 | Volume: No volume available | Issue: No issue available | Pages: 1-5

10.1017/jme.2026.10265 | PMID 42130399

Abstract Through emerging interpretations of individual “medical freedoms,” a panoply of state legislative bills seeks to undermine long-standing public health and health care requirements including recommendations to test, screen, treat, and vaccinate persons. To the extent these bills could upend decades of laws and policies protecting individual and communal health, especially among vulnerable individuals, they threaten the health — and freedoms — of all persons.