If the idea of launching a government autism registry sounds inhumane to you, rest assured, you are not alone in your crowd. The idea proposed by new Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is causing widespread alarm. Some have even gone as far as comparing the proposed autism registry to the Nazis’ list of autistic kids.
Health and Wellness is a Private Matter
One’s autism diagnosis and other health issues must be kept confidential. Knowledge of such diagnoses and conditions should be restricted to patients and doctors.
RFK Jr. thinks otherwise. The Secretary of Health and Human Services and other bureaucrats are plotting and scheming in an attempt to establish a link between vaccines and autism. Though no such causal link has been established, the formation of an autism database has the potential to make a more convincing case.
Lost in the shuffle is patient confidentiality. It is none of the government’s business if an individual is diagnosed with autism or another condition.
Government Data Mining Has No End in Sight
Information is the equivalent of power and money in our data-centric age. The federal government needs information to make impactful policy decisions. However, the collection of personal information should have limits.
We are quickly transitioning to an era in which swamp bureaucrats collect data from medical records, genetic tests, smartwatches, pharmacies and more. The Nazis employed a similar approach when gathering data on those deemed “defective” and worthy of an early death.
If we don’t stop RFK Jr. and the Trump administration, we’ll soon be enveloped by an overbearing beltway that seeps into every aspect of personal health. The battle against Big Brother begins with the quashing of the proposed disease registry before it forms.
Autism Isn’t Going Anywhere Any Time Soon
Some have hypothesized that autism is caused by food processing and additives. Others have suggested the condition constitutes a species upgrade of sorts. Though autists struggle in social settings, they tend to be intelligent.
Taxpayers are justified in questioning whether their hard-earned money should be spent on autism research. If unchallenged, RFK Jr. will expedite that research on a “rapid timeline” that might not yield anything of substance.
Health Challenges are a Fact of Life
Though autism is on the rise, two dozen studies have disproven the notion of a link between vaccines and the condition. It is high time that we admit no human is perfect. Health and wellness are determined by a myriad of factors ranging from one’s genetics to the surrounding environment, nutrition and more.
If the autism rate continues to increase in the years and decades ahead, so be it. Autism and other human fallibilities are inherent to the species.
Republicans Should Stick to Their Mantra of Decentralization
Listen closely when Republicans speak and you’ll hear recurring themes of decentralization, federalism and states’ rights. The overarching message of the political right is to decentralize power from the “swamp” of D.C. Here’s what RFK Jr. and other Republicans are overlooking: the human condition will never be perfected.
Beltway bureaucrats should accept this fundamental fact of life. Federal lawmakers and policymakers are to re-center their focus. Moving forward, the federal government’s mission in the context of health should be providing care to those in need.
Featured image/photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash.