Release date: January 7th, 2018

Jessica Flanigan

This episode features Jessica Flanigan, professor of normative and applied ethics, making the case that patients should have the right to take pharmaceutical drugs without needing to get a prescription from a doctor. Jessica and Julia discuss a series of related questions, such as: Should there be exceptions made for drugs that have negative repercussions on society as a whole? And what is the morally relevant difference between a doctor imposing treatment on someone without consent, and the government withholding treatment from someone without consent?

Jessica's Book: "Pharmaceutical Freedom: Why Patients Have a Right to Self Medicate"

Jessica's 1st Pick: "Whose Body is it Anyway?" by Cecile Fabre

Jessica's 2nd Pick: "Against Autonomy" by Sarah Conly

Edited by Brent Silk

Music by Miracles of Modern Science

Full Transcripts