Chiles v. Salazar · ¶145

Like it or not, treatment standards exist in America. And those standards necessarily refect the expert medical community's current beliefs about the safety and effcacy of various medical treatments, whatever those beliefs might be. Medical standards are driven by science (objective facts and data), but, naturally, they are not viewpoint neutral. Consequently, the people win—not lose—when a State incorporates the medical profession's viewpoint into laws that require licensed treatment providers to conform to prevailing standards of care. Contra, ante, at 655 (suggesting otherwise). For this reason, the Court has long recognized a State's power to regulate to protect its residents even in the face of uncertainty. Cf. Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U. S. 124, 163 (2007) (collecting cases and noting the “wide discretion” afforded state legislatures to “pass legislation in areas where there is…

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