[beatgammit]

I don't buy the "public health" argument. I can see "public health" for things like vaccines where one person's choices can significantly affect others, but how does someone dying by making a stupid decision impact the public?

If there really is a cost to it (e.g. the government needs to clean up dead people), then make it opt-out with a fee when you get your license. When you get pulled over for an infraction, you can get an additional fine if you aren't wearing a helmet and haven't paid the fee, where to fine is much larger than the fee.

The government shouldn't protect people from themselves (though it can certainly nudge them through opt-out strategies), it just needs to protect people from each other. That's why we have people locked up for marijuana possession and other victimless crimes.

Religion shouldn't be relevant at all to this. If you choose to opt out of something for any reason, you're reasonable for taking measures to get you same result.