Minnesota’s PFAS law risks cutting off patients from needed medical devices

Minnesota’s effort to curb per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — the so-called “forever chemicals” — is noble in concept. We know these compounds linger in the environment, and across industries the search for safer alternatives to PFAS is both warranted and welcome.

But noble intent does not guarantee good outcomes. As written, Minnesota’s Amara’s Law contains a quieter, but significant, consequence that could meaningfully undermine patient confidence in lifesaving medical devices that thousands of Minnesotans rely on every day.

I have spent my career thinking about how policy decisions ripple through the health of a nation. I have learned that the test of any public health law is not its ambition but its arithmetic. Will it measurably improve outcomes for...