If This Is Medical Freedom, Why Do I Feel Trapped?

I was listening to a podcast recently in which a woman I respect talked about taking peptides. I have no idea which peptides she is gobbling or how she’s getting them, but she does look really good lately.

For a moment, I thought: Will these short chains of amino acids make my skin better or build muscle more efficiently or help me feel less tired, somehow? Sometimes I click through one of the many telehealth ads that I see every day and clock how many drugs I can load into my cart and seemingly purchase with no friction — just a smooth tap on a clean square.

I sometimes find it hard to resist what Big Wellness has to offer, even as I have been critical of an American system that allows so many drugs and supplements to be advertised without adequate disclosures and dispensed with the slightest nod to proper medical approval. I am not immune to the allure of an injection that promises the Fountain of Youth or the minor relief of knowing that the drugs are there, should I ever choose to take them.

The deep satisfaction of a consumer choice can feel like a form of agency, and that is the kind of medical freedom, free from government........

© The New York Times