ABSTRACT
A libertarian approach to healthcare is generally favorable to market-based solutions and skeptical of centrally planned governmental solutions to public health and medicine. Libertarians oppose paternalistic restrictions on liberty, such as prohibitions on dangerous drugs or behavior. Libertarians are also especially cognizant of the ways that governmental regulation can stifle innovation and make healthcare more costly. Many libertarians emphasize the moral importance of bodily rights as a constraint on public policy making. Yet libertarians may disagree about what it means to respect bodily rights. For example, libertarians disagree about whether and how public officials should enforce policies that protect public goods or prevent market failure. Libertarians also disagree about questions related to abortion. In this chapter I survey libertarian approaches to public health and healthcare in five areas—clinical ethics, healthcare policy, public health, medical markets and regulation, and human enhancement.
