"Gary Drescher" wrote:
it does seem to me that the safety of being in controlled
airspace during the approach until below the MDA would outweigh the
usefulness of being able to fly VFR under a 700' ceiling (especially at HIE,
surrounded by hills and mountains).

To the IFR pilot, I'm sure having protection from those annoying VFR
types seems more important. But, the VFR guy who wants to practice
touch-and-goes from a 500 AGL pattern (or maybe even makes a living
crop-dusting, or doing pipeline patrol, or flying a med-evac chopper)
might feel differently.

It all depends upon your point of view, I guess. Nobody's forcing you
to fly into that airport in weather conditions you feel are unsafe.
Nobody's forcing you to use the MDA that's published on the chart.
Break off the approach at 700 AGL if you don't see the ground by then.
Sure, you give up a bit of operational flexibility, but you gain safety.
The choice is yours.