There's a certain libertarian right-wing view that there should be no FDA, that people can decide for themselves whether medicines are safe and effective. That's nonsense. Most people don't have the expertise or the resources to mount a proper study to find out whether a treatment is safe or effective.

Illness and death are not optional. Patients have a right to determine how they approach them.

Alternative medicine plays into this exaggerated notion that you can prevent disease simply by doing the right thing.

Marcia Angell Quotes