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AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Dec 28, 2006
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AJPH.2005.083204v1
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February 2007, Vol 97, No. 2 | American Journal of Public Health 208-217
© 2007 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.083204

PUBLIC HEALTH THEN AND NOW

Paternalism & Its Discontents: Motorcycle Helmet Laws, Libertarian Values, and Public Health

Marian Moser Jones, MPH and Ronald Bayer, PhD

Marian Moser Jones is with the Center for History and Ethics of Public Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY. Ronald Bayer is with the Center for History and Ethics of Public Health and the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Marian Moser Jones, MPH, Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W 168th St, 9th Fl, New York, NY 10032 (e-mail: mmj44{at}columbia.edu).

The history of motorcycle helmet legislation in the United States reflects the extent to which concerns about individual liberties have shaped the public health debate. Despite overwhelming epidemiological evidence that motorcycle helmet laws reduce fatalities and serious injuries, only 20 states currently require all riders to wear helmets. During the past 3 decades, federal government efforts to push states toward enactment of universal helmet laws have faltered, and motorcyclists’ advocacy groups have been successful at repealing state helmet laws. This history raises questions about the possibilities for articulating an ethics of public health that would call upon government to protect citizens from their own choices that result in needless morbidity and suffering.




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