Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Stopped Clock Watch
Massachussetts has a reputation for silly regulation, and sometimes you can clearly see just how well-deserved it is. For example, there’s this business about banning formula company giveaways in hospitals. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks this is insanely heavy-handed:
State health officials are balking at Gov. Mitt Romney’s demand they immediately reverse their ban on hospital goodie bags filled with free baby formula and coupons — gifts lambasted by pro-nursing groups as anti-breast-feeding propaganda.
Mitt may think that everyone weans to formula eventually, but bless him, he finally said something sensible:
But Romney said yesterday mothers can make their own decision. “If she doesn’t want to use it, she can save it for nine months or six months or a year, when the child is going to be weaned to a bottle,� the governor said.“I’m happy to let the mother decide.�
What a concept! You mean women are smart enough to feed their own children? Say it ain’t so, Mitt, say it ain’t so!
This isn’t enough to make me fond of Romney; quite frankly, I can’t think of a thing that could possibly make me like or even tolerate the man at this point. Nice to know that he does touch bases with reality every now and again, though.
(Story originally spotted at Health Business Blog, via Grand Rounds 2.23, which is up at A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure.)