…if it’s related to fracking. From abortion to this, when will politicians/government realize it needs to get out from between patients and their doctors? Note: this is completely separate from the insurance issue in front of the Supreme Court.

Under a new law, doctors in Pennsylvania can access information about chemicals used in natural gas extraction — but they won’t be able to share it with their patients. A provision buried in a law passed last month is drawing scrutiny from the public health and environmental community, who argue that it will “gag” doctors who want to raise concerns related to oil and gas extraction with the people they treat and the general public.



  1. bobbo says:

    Unbelievable, but not without precedent. Much like the Famous Food Disparagement/Libel Laws a few years ago that Ophra had to go to court over.

    Not enough to sue a doc if he communicates incorrect info, no, our overlords want to censor the information from the get go.

    Hmmmm. First amendment supposedly stops the government from prior restraint but this could be a loop hole?

    Rich = Criminal.

    We see this equation working its will more and more, across the board. One day……….

  2. Phydeau says:

    Wow, this is really blatant. Just not even bothering to hide it any more: We’re rich, we’re powerful, we can keep whatever dirty secrets we want, so shut up and do what we tell you to do.

  3. Colorado says:

    “this is completely separate from the insurance issue”

    No it’s not. Government in, common sense out the window.

    • Pays2Think says:

      Actually, I believe that would be corporations and big money in, democracy out.

      Without campaign finance reform, government is just a tool of big money.

      • dusanmal says:

        Nope. Colorado is correct. Only Government can make laws. Grow Government, allow it to control every aspect of our lives and commerce -> instant corruption. If they can control business and can be bribed AND are in all-powerful position the only possible result is corruption. Stronger Government is, more likely this outcome is.
        The only way out is crippling size, scope and power of the Government. Than, it is a level play between people and Corporations. Give power to Government and it will be corrupt.

        • Phydeau says:

          Sorry dusanmal, that horse is out of the barn. We already tried having large, powerful corporations and weak government during the days of the Robber Barons. As a result, we had horrific working conditions, dangerous and tainted food and drugs, horrible pollution in the air, water, and ground, and lots more. Large and powerful corporations doing whatever they want for profit ends up being really bad for the rest of us. Where do you think many of our regulatory agencies came from?

          As long as there are large and powerful corporations bent on maximizing their profits no matter what (and that’s Capitalism) we need a large and powerful government to keep them in check. Corporate greed is the engine of capitalism, but we need regulation to keep that engine from revving out of control. The founders of Capitalism knew we needed strong regulation, do you think you know better than them?

          Of course, nowadays our government regulatory agencies have been corrupted by the industries they are meant to regulate. That means you fix the corruption, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

        • Phydeau says:

          And there is no level playing ground between corporations and people. Corporations are much richer and much more powerful than people. If Exxon dumps toxic waste in your back yard, they have thousands of lawyers and millions of dollars to spend on them if you think of suing them. What do you have?

  4. msbpodcast says:

    What does this tell you about the morals of the 1%?

    That they have none.

    The managers of the fracking companies show the same ethical concern and moral self-restraint that Union Carbide (and later their new owners Dow Chemicals) showed in Bhopal, India.

    Of course the extremely rich, the 12,400 billionaires, aren’t bothered by any of this.

    They ignore all of this shit because they can just call up their own congress critter, a 1%er, have him brought down to “splain hisself” and their well had better be clean and full of sweet smelling water or else!

    They’ll just toss their congress critter aside like an used tissue, move out of the district and there’ll be a tragic Corzine-like accident arranged…

    I’m personally not worried about the dog-eat-dog 99%ers because they might be eating/drinking/breathing contaminated crap. Screw that… I know we are.

    The beauty of environmental pollution and degradation like this is that the water in some 1%ers’ sink is about to start tasting like shit too. Soon there’ll be a PA equivalent to the Cuyahoga river and somebody’s head will roll.

    An aquifer doesn’t care wether you’re a billionaire, a millionaire or a thousandaire. You fuck with it at your own risk.

    If I was a 1%er doing fracking, I’d be looking for another line of work.

    I hear there plenty of real estate going for cheap in the Ukraine, near the lovely little village of Prypiat.

  5. Animby - Just Phoning It In says:

    Would a physician who withheld this information from an affected patient be guilty of malpractice?

    Do …… damned.
    Don’t .. damned.

    • jpfitz says:

      Most Doctors play God, at least they believe the’re God. So no damnation for God.

  6. jpfitz says:

    Here’s a youtube for those like Pedro who can’t read or just doesn’t get it. The first Bush started a lot of this deregulation to get laws out of the way. Fuck the environment to justify prosperity for business. The trickle down shit story was propagated by Reagan whose vice was Bush senior.

    Now the EPA is powerless. Your drinking water and fishing streams will turn to shit, and if YOU become ill from living near a fracking operation, tough shit. Even you Doctor is in cahoots with big oil/gas. Unfucking believable. Maybe it’s time for some civil disobedience.

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fby5TqYc42c

  7. MartinJJ says:

    And nobody is suing the state over these laws as they are probably unconstitutional in the first place? These laws are another nail to your coffin.

    “It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.”
    Thomas Jefferson


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