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1998 U. Ill. L. Rev. 909 (1998)
Living Dangerously: A Defense of Mortal Peril

handle is hein.journals/unilllr1998 and id is 919 raw text is: LIVING DANGEROUSLY: A DEFENSE OF MORTAL PERIL Richard A. Epstein* As one of the most controversial writers of our time, just the name Richard Epstein draws immediate attention from all sectors of academia. But if the hallmark of great ideas is the criticism they engender, Professor Epstein's words and thoughts are powerful in- deed. In Mortal Peril, Professor Epstein outlined a fundamental shift in thinking that he claimed needed to occur before any discus- sion of health care could take place. The final consensus of the validity of Professor Epstein's views may still be a matter for his- tory to judge, but in many ways, he has already won; with the strength of his logic and convictions, he has forced other scholars to address his concerns, and in doing so, he has refocused the de- bate on health care. At the symposium, Professor Epstein proved his indisputable eloquence and debating skill in answering and re- futing the various points made by his many critics. Now, in writ- ing, he thoughtfully considers and analyzes the views submitted by his colleagues, and solidifies the ideas that first found their expres- sion in Mortal Peril. The papers in this symposium issue have followed the organiza- tion that I adopted in Mortal Peril. The first part of that book dealt with the broad dispute over the status of a positive right to health care; the second section examined the pitfalls of that approach by looking at a range of health-care regulations and reforms now firmly entrenched in the United States. The third section focused on various issues of individual choice by addressing issues of organ transplanta- tion, physician-assisted suicide, and physician and hospital liability for medically related accidents. Without further ado, I think that it is best to follow that order in responding to the papers in the symposium,' along with several others published elsewhere.2 * James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law, The University of Chicago. A.B. 1964, Columbia College; B.A. 1966, Oxford University; L.L.B. 1968, Yale Law School. I should like to thank David Hyman on an earlier draft, and Michael Maimin and Dan Sommers for their diligent research assistance. 1. Omitted from this list is Professor Robert Rich's paper on federalism and health-care policy, which, while it addresses critical issues in health care, does not speak directly to any of the points I made in Mortal Peril. 2. See also Uwe E. Reinhardt, Wanted: A Clearly Articulated Social Ethic for American Health Care, 278 JAMA 1446 (1997); Troyen A. Brennan, Moral Imperatives Versus Market So- lutions: Is Health Care a Right?, 65 U. CHI. L. REv. 345 (1998) (review of Mortal Peril).

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