Should You Need Permission to Take Medicine? | Jessica Flanigan

Do adults have a right to decide what goes into their own bodies, even when experts believe they're making a mistake?Jessica Flanigan returns to defend a radical idea: competent adults should have the freedom to access pharmaceuticals without needing permission from doctors or government regulators. Flanigan argues that the same principles underlying informed consent also support a right to self-medicate.The conversation explores medical paternalism through debates over prescription requirements, addiction, public health, gender-affirming care, and assisted dying. We scrutinize the limits of state authority and whether doctors are ever truly better judges of our interests than we are ourselves.Chapters:[00:00] Introduction to Jessica Flanigan[00:21] The Case for Pharmaceutical Freedom[04:08] Medical Paternalism and Informed Consent[07:06] Are Doctors Better Judges of Our Interests?[14:33] When Is Paternalism Justified?[17:27] Addiction, Autonomy, and Self-Control[21:43] Socialized Healthcare and Personal Risk[28:06] Third-Party Harms: Antibiotics and Public Health[34:22] Vaccine Mandates and Individual Liberty[38:37] Adderall, Neuroenhancement, and Fairness[43:51] Gender-Affirming Care and Medical Autonomy[57:20] The Right to Die and Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)[01:01:33] Closing ThoughtsSubscribe on Substack: https://braininavat.substack.com/