Healthcare is NOT a basic human right.

Nurses Activism

Published

If one were to read the Constitution one would realize that the Constitution does not grant anyone freedoms, liberties, or rights. The Constitution only protects freedoms, liberties, and rights from transgressions on part of the government. A right is something that is inherent to the individual, comes from that individual, and is maintained by the individual. You are born with such rights like the right to speak freely, the only thing that can be done to that right is to have it infringed. No one can grant a right to another, only limit or impede the exercise of that right.

Healthcare is a human invention that does not exist in the natural environment. Only through the work of others and through the taking of resources from one party and giving to another does healthcare exist. You cannot force someone to give effort and resources to another and call that a right. In the absence of human intervention the individual would live their lives and succumb to the natural forces which would act upon their bodies.

Do I think we should provide preventative care and basic primary care? Sure. Do I think that we can? Maybe. Do I think that healthcare is a basic human right? Absolutely not.

Specializes in 1 PACU,11 ICU, 9 ER.

Exactly why I left the US!

Here in NZ, socialised Health Care is a basic human right, as it should be .....

I think in a civilized society we do have a duty to provide health care to all our citizens, regardless of ability to afford it. Otherwise we end up in a situation where we are valuing the human life and dignity of the privileged class over that of the poor, the elderly, children of poverty and disabled. Your class status should determine what kind of clothes you wear, car you drive, toys you buy, neighborhood you live in and vacations you take, but not your ability to have your medical needs taken care of.

By your argument--that we don't have a basic human right to anything not found in the natural world, anything that involves a human intervention-- we should only be entitled to eat anything we can wildcraft or hunt ourselves and we should be living in caves and wearing animal skins (of animals that we hunted ourselves, with a bow and arrow made of hand-ground stone....).

The constitution is not the final say on what a basic human right is...it was never meant to be. A document that is widely accepted by industrialized, civilized nations is the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25 states that: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control".

I feel that the fight against universal healthcare is a very uncaring and selfish one.If we have the ability to help others- to SAVE THEIR LIVES...we should do so. Every life is worthy.
Not everyone agrees with that.
I think in a civilized society we do have a duty to provide health care to all our citizens, regardless of ability to afford it. Otherwise we end up in a situation where we are valuing the human life and dignity of the privileged class over that of the poor, the elderly, children of poverty and disabled. Your class status should determine what kind of clothes you wear, car you drive, toys you buy, neighborhood you live in and vacations you take, but not your ability to have your medical needs taken care of.
well those have to be paid for by someone else. should thenones doing the paying decide on where/who to spend it? healthcare is a commodity just like anything that can be bought. not sure that it shouldnt be. if i think about it objectivelly and in a capitalistb mindset
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

I would argue that having to suffer conditions when treatment is available due to being unable to afford it when others of better means are able to afford it is cruel, inhuman and degrading.

We are all however, to be treated fairly and equally in here in the U.S.A, but sadly we are not. I don't think anything in our health care industry can be fixed until pharmaceutical companies and big business' are no longer able to profit from it. People are getting rich off of people being sick and that isn't right.

Specializes in Psychiatric Nursing.

:::yawn:::

I deal with Borderline Personality patients all day.... Your post makes me wonder...

Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

I think this whole debate is so sad. Speaking only from personal experience, every person I know who is against the health care plan can afford insurance. They also don't know ANYONE who can't afford insurance (Yes, I have asked). They are well insulated from the realities of a huge portion of this country.

It is a reality that many of this country's poor population get no health care at all, or low quality health care at best. My own mother had to make a decision that left her disabled based strictly on the cost. She cannot afford to go to a doctor, even for a checkup. She, on the opposite side of this argument, mostly knows people who can't afford insurance, or to even go to a doctor.

It is not a basic right to be able to go to the doctor. But, it's also not a basic right to do most of what our governnment has deemed worthy. I would rather make sure every single person gets health care than to make sure that people get mortgage interest write offs on their taxes, or some other "right" that only benefits those who have more income.

Specializes in Med-Surg.

In answer to the poster who said she was from Canada, I am also from Canada, and LEFT because of how stupid high the taxes are to encourage the mindset of entitlement we Canadians develop. I was also tired of the healthcare system being abused because of people who were bored, lonely, uneducated as to what requires hospital visits. I was tired of being underpaid, overworked, not having the proper equipment and staffing to care for our patients. So not all Canadians are satisfied with the current state of healthcare in Canada. And like I have posted on another thread, ask ER nurses from America. Who is more likely to go to the ER for something stupid like a broken nail or gum stuck in their hair? Who is more likely to take an ambulance to the hospital for these reasons, then demand a ride back home or a taxi voucher? Is it those who have to pay for it, or those who don't care because the government ie our tax dollars are paying for it?

I do think that people living under the poverty line, children up to 18(regardless of the finances of their family) and the elderly should get healthcare. But as a responsible adult, I can either figure out a way to pay for healthcare insurance, or deal with the consequences if they arise. I think it is often a matter of priorities. If I pay to have cable and internet, or go to restaurants 2 nights a week, then I can cut back some and get insurance instead.

Has anyone heard of the 13th Ammendment? If The Us citizens deen healthcare a right should there be an ammedment?

Specializes in Home Care.

I'm Canadian, I spent many years living in the US as a permanent resident.

My last job in Florida was as a part-time LPN in an LTC, I had no health insurance. I couldn't afford a private plan and I didn't qualify for Medicaid.

I returned to Canada for many reasons. I'm very happy to be back in the land of universal healthcare. So far I haven't had to wait for anything. And even if I do have to wait at least I know its going to happen. I'm not going to be denied because I don't have health ins.

Specializes in Critical Care.

when we talk about these things, since not everyone has the same religion (which is what most religious people base their beliefs on) we have to find a logical base for our arguments. Our society's goal is to protect the civil liberties of the citizens so that they may pursue their happiness and goals in a free society. As far as basic human rights go, the constitution and any other US document is not where to look. The UN's declaration is not a good place either. Immanuel Kant deduced through some annoyingly wordy logic in what is now called his categorical imperative.

One point said: "Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end."

I find this one important in any discussion of human life. We should remember that, whatever our stance, even if we do not think healthcare is a right, that that person who is sick and can't see a doctor is not a thing who does not deserve care, but a sentient being, like yourself.

And another: "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction."

This is a more basic form of the golden rule, in a way. And Can be better explained by using one of his famous examples of the nazi who kills himself when finding out he is jewish. Would you deny yourself healthcare when you find yourself poor and homeless? Or would you beg the establishment to find a way to care for you?

While we all agree that there are bad apples in the bunch who leach off the system, I think my tax money is worth providing care for the people who work their hardest to make due and still come short. Even if the noble person is only 1 out of 10, It is worth it in my opinion. Not to mention, according to the ethicists, the fact that the people I would sometimes see as not deserving of care, are still people, and when it comes down to it, we should do what we can for them as well. No person is worth any less, or more than another.

+ Add a Comment