America’s elected coroners are too often a public-health liability
The politics of death
IN FLU SEASONS past, James Gill never worried about how the death certificates his office produced might be received by grieving families. As Connecticut’s chief medical examiner, he oversees investigations for about two-thirds of all deaths in the state, and his work is not usually the stuff of controversy. Covid-19 changed that. Relatives sometimes question whether covid was the cause of their loved one’s demise; some want the virus removed from the death certificate. Dr Gill, a civil servant, is insulated from such pressure. That is not so in many parts of America.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “The politics of death”
United States January 29th 2022
- Justice Stephen Breyer retires after almost 28 years on the Supreme Court
- Eric Adams unveils his blueprint to help New York tackle violence
- Claims of insider trading in Washington spur efforts to stop it
- A ballot fight over sports gambling in California has high stakes
- America’s elected coroners are too often a public-health liability
- Sensible policy on psychedelic drugs is growing more common
- Environmental justice in the balance
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