Unintended consequences

I attended a wonderful conference last week.  One of the main sessions was taking a look at policy.  The speaker went through a great deal of research and showed how a certain policy was taking a low risk group and turning it into a high risk group.  She even used the studies that the policy makers had used.  This caused quite a stir because we are not to question those in authority.  We are expected to trust them.
Of course, the intent of these policy makers in authority is to help people and save babies.  These, I am sure, are good people.  Unfortunately, when you place yourself in a position of authority, you can also easily abuse this authority.  You must allow people to question you.  You must share your authority with those you serve.
Much of my time as a nurse seems to be devoted to returning the patient's authority to them.  I say things like "I am giving you my opinion.  It is an educated opinion, but the final decision is yours."  I really don't think anyone is served by abdicating authority to a doctor, nurse, Priest or teacher.  I think that people should not follow policy blindly, hoping that it will keep them safe.  As this speaker proved, sometimes there are unintended consequences.