I Don’t Know If Senator Cassidy Is The Worst Doctor In America, But He Is Certainly The Most Irresponsible

I’m sure Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was a great doctor. But he’s an irresponsible public servant. Our nation deserves better, especially those whose health will be jeopardized by his irresponsible decision to vote in favor of the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for the position of Health Secretary.  What made his vote last week to send the nomination to the Senate floor particularly cowardly is that throughout his medical career, Senator Cassidy was (and to be fair, remains) a passionate supporter and advocate for vaccines.  Bobby Kennedy is not. He is the opposite.  Vaccines are among civilization’s greatest achievements, backed by decades of rigorous research. Kennedy's promotion of debunked claims, such as the false link between vaccines and autism, shows a troubling disregard for science and public welfare that is decades in the making.  Every member of the US Senate knows this.  No reader of this Shabbat message would ever consider going to a doctor who was even “mixed” with regard to the issue of vaccines, or let them near their children or grandchildren.  So why would a doctor elevate a man with such views to such a position of authority?     

When Senator Cassidy graduated from medical school, he recited some version of the Hippocratic Oath, which included some variation of the phrase "first, do no harm" (or "primum non nocere," the Latin translation from the original Greek).  Some years ago, Dr. Robert Shmerling, a member of the faculty of medicine at Harvard Medical School wrote about the difficulties and confusion that often complicate a simple understanding of that phrase. His conclusion was that we need high quality research to help doctors better understand the balance of risk and benefits for the tests and treatments they recommend.  Yet ultimately, “ …. it (the Hippocratic Oath) is also a reminder that doctors should neither overestimate their capacity to heal nor underestimate their capacity to do harm.”

As I considered Professor Shmerling’s words, I had an idea:  just as lawyers, doctors, accountants, HVAC mechanics and technicians, and even Rabbis must regularly undergo training and professional development in order to keep up with new professional techniques and standards, emerging literature, research, and technology, as well as to maintain professional obligations and ethical responsibilities, that perhaps we might ask the same of our elected officials.  Perhaps then, Senator Cassidy and the other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee could explain to the American public why they voted in favor of sending a passionate anti-vaxxer with a history of supporting debunked medical research to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Allow me to share with you some insights and lessons from Jewish law and history that might help you understand how Rabbinical authorities have dealt with the issue of vaccines over the past 250 years.  While it might not change the politics surrounding this issue, you deserve to know exactly where our tradition stands on this subject.

Vaccination is a mitzvah. Jewish law obligates Jews to vaccinate themselves, and to encourage others within their care to receive vaccines that have a proven and safe track record.

Rabbinical authorities have encouraged and approved vaccinations since their introduction. The first Rabbinic rulings addressed the response to the smallpox epidemic, which killed 400,000 people annually in Europe in the 19th century.

The first smallpox vaccine was introduced 1796 by Dr. Edward Jenner.  Though vaccines in their various forms predate Jenner by hundreds of years, the smallpox vaccine was the first successful vaccine to be developed for widespread use.  When the smallpox vaccine was introduced, there was debate among Jewish authorities about the very nature of the vaccine, which was dependent on introducing a small amount of smallpox into an otherwise healthy person.

Two of the leading authorities at the time, Rabbi Israel Lipchitz and Rabbi Abraham Nanzig endorsed these vaccines. The response of Rabbi Nanzig is particularly poignant.  He lost two sons to smallpox, and his rabbinic arguments passionately made the case for inoculation against it.  Rabbi Nanzig explained that smallpox was so widespread and contagious that everyone should be considered at risk. Therefore, the benefit of the vaccine, even one that (at the time) was new and without a long track record, nonetheless outweighed that risk.

Think about what he ruled: the greater societal benefit of taking the vaccine, along with the serious consequences of contracting the disease, outweighed the potential risk it might pose to a few individuals.

My professional organization, The Rabbinical Assembly, along with most Orthodox authorities including the Orthodox Union (the OU), have reached the same conclusion. The halachic (Jewish legal) literature, both in the USA and Israel, have endorsed vaccines on the basis of our paramount obligation to protect our own health, and the health of the society in which we live.  Indeed, there is no religious exception or exemption recognized by Jewish law from vaccine mandates where approved or endorsed by civil authorities.

Today, scientists, public health officials, and every reputable medical expert have told us that vaccines are the best way to protect us, and especially children, from the diseases that until a few decades ago regularly killed thousands each year. So, who are you going to believe: famous and talented people (whose fame and talents are in other fields of expertise) or the medical experts and scientists?  Dr Cassidy knows the answer to that question, as do you.  That he failed to act upon it is an absolute abdication of his responsibilities as a doctor and as a public servant. 

I could easily argue that while primum non nocere may be his oath and responsibility as a physician, as a Senator he also swore an oath to the American public, this one to “…faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

Senator Cassidy was the first doctor in 90 years to lead this important committee in the Senate.  And he blew it.  He was the expert that should have been counted on to prevent such an unqualified conspiracy theorist from potentially wreaking havoc on our great nation.  Sadly, he allowed political considerations and pressure to cloud his judgment.  He may have been a great doctor.  Now he is simply an irresponsible one. Every American will be worse off as a result.