Matt Walsh

Maybe the first time.

So we need to talk about it.

Quote, when a state establishes a standard of care or punishes a doctor for providing care outside of that standard, it necessarily limits what medical professionals can say and do on the basis of viewpoint.

A state can prohibit the administration of specific drugs, particular medical uses, but not for others.

So, too, may it provide a doctor prohibit a doctor from encouraging a patient to commit suicide.

Now, she's actually right there, at least in part.

It's true that the government can punish doctors who encourage patients to commit suicide and, well, unless we're talking about euthanasia, in which case they're allowed to.

But, you know, in outside of that context, they're not allowed to.

And at some level, that does count as a restriction on the free speech rights of these medical professionals.

But there's a very big difference between that situation.

and Colorado's ban on so-called conversion therapy.

Colorado was attempting to force counselors in their official capacity to lie to their patients and to claim that gender ideology was settled science.

Colorado was forcing doctors to take a specific position on a contested issue and calling it a contested issue is being very generous to the pro-trans side.

It's actually not contested at all by reasonable people.

On the other hand, in Ketanji Brown Jackson's example, doctors are telling patients to harm themselves

In other words, they're encouraging patients to commit a crime.

And that kind of speech can be regulated for the same reason that I'd get in trouble if I told all my viewers to go commit a crime.

Again, unless I'm a leftist, in which case you're basically allowed to do that.

But technically, under the law, you can't.

So it falls under a very narrow category of speech, which is incitement to violence.