Bloomberg speech to NY Bar Association Re Medical Malpractice Liability

Mayor Bloomberg stated in his speech to the NY Bar Association's Presidential Summit on January 26, 2011, concerning medical malpractice liability, "For example, the number of women receiving C-sections is rising, with doctors now performing 50 percent more than are medically necessary." Is this possible? Peforming unnecesssary major surgery on mother and child 50 percent of the time? There must be some misunderstanding. Physicians don't wheel a woman into an operating room and cut her open unnecessarily because they are afraid of lawyers. That isn't possible.
If the Mayor referrred to the right statistic and I didn't misunderstand, how is it possible that we, as a society, have strayed so far from, "First, do no harm", and from law and medicine being healing professions? How can we step back, learn how to work together again to promote healing, compassion, trust and community, and protect everyone from unnecessary surgery? First, perhaps, by accepting our own share of responsibility as individuals, professionals, and members of our communities.
I will write more about this in the next several days. In the meantime, I'm thinking about it and asking for input from anyone and everyone interested in this topic. How about an on-line dialogue? Who is interested? Also, I'm writing to Mayor Bloomberg!
When you have a minute, please take a look at an article I wrote two years ago about bringing healing to law and medicine (and the rest of us) on my website, http://www.servantlawyership.com/.