Minority Rule: A Lethal Threat to the People's Health, Democracy, and our Planet.

Abstract

When it comes to climate change, gun control, and abortion rights, the U.S. Supreme Court is on a minority rule roll, with grave consequences for the health of people and life on Earth. Its June 2022 decisions to limit the ability of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate climate-heating emissions, to overturn gun control legislation, and to overturn Roe v. Wade not only will harm health and increase health inequities, but also flout public opinion. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, is not alone in being out of step with majority views: so too are state and federal elected officials. For effective action, it is imperative for health professionals not only to marshal evidence of harms posed by actions such as the Supreme Court decisions, but also to contribute to efforts to understand and address how changing the "rules of the game"-for example, through gerrymandering and voter suppression-is enabling branches of the U.S. government to undermine not only use of scientific evidence but also majority rule.