Healthcare is NOT a basic human right.

Nurses Activism

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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 Psychiatric Nursing.
I think lifesaving healthcare should be afforded to everyone when needed, but not the rest.

How do you pick what would qualify? I don't know.

I mean I don't think you just leave a kid bleeding out on the street because they don't have insurance, but I also think you don't allow people to abuse insurance and if physically able not do a thing in return for it.

I wonder how much money hospitals could save by having an MD in the triage area to deem certain ridiculous complaints unemergent.

I would love to hear:

"Yes, I understand that you felt that your ingrown toenail is a medical emergency and a reason to call for EMS at 2300. I've assessed your toe and believe this can be resolved at your PCP's office in the morning. If you currently do not have one, our front desk will supply you with a list of providers that have same day appointments available and pharmacies that are open 24/7. Here is a prescription for 10 tablets of IBuprofen 800mg to take orally, every six hours, as needed. AtivanIM, one of our triage RN's, will go over all this information with you before you leave the triage area and direct you to Angie at the front desk for the lists we discussed. Good luck with your toe, the Ibuprofen can hold you over until the morning."

Specializes in geriatrics.

Keep in mind that while Canadians enjoy socialized medicine, our health care system isn't exactly free. We pay for it indirectly through high taxes.

QUOTE "Maybe, with some luck, you won't find yourself in the situation of millions of Americans that didn't expect to find themselves without insurance, and with nowhere to turn but the ER for care. "

...for gum in their hair...

QUOTE: "I think healthcare should be a basic right. It is not fair that if a person does not have insurance and they are poor, their health is not important but if you have unlimited amounts of money like a certain presidential candidate, your health is a priority. It does say in the constitution that all men are created equal. "

Don't be so flip about candidates. Both have what would most likely be "unlimited amounts of money" to most of us and I'm pretty sure both care about the health of others. This is a really biased statement and one reason others stpo listening when opinionated (not necessarily informed) people start to spew their political rhetoric and justify it by how "deeply they care."

QUOTE "Perhaps only COMPASSIONATE people agree that the fight against universal health care is an uncaring, selfish thing. "

...or opinionated ones

Specializes in Critical Care.

and here i thought we could have a nice conversation without election politics. :no:

Specializes in Oncology.

What kind of selfish person doesn't think healthcare is a human right?

I guess then, neither is clean air or water, safe housing, working electric systems, phone service, police protection, workplace laws to protect employees, fair pay for work, functional roads and bridges, etc.

But I don't see you selfish people complaining about any of the things you have that you benefit from.

Specializes in School Nurse, Maternal Newborn.
QUOTE "Maybe, with some luck, you won't find yourself in the situation of millions of Americans that didn't expect to find themselves without insurance, and with nowhere to turn but the ER for care. "

...for gum in their hair...

I am sure that is the reason that millions of Americans without health care coverage would want it; so they can go to the ER to have the gum removed from their hair.

Do you think that insured people don't ever abuse the health care system? It is one of the issues cited that help keep all of our insurance premiums nice and high. It is just more convenient to blame the poor for all our ills. After all, there are no working poor people in America.

Since when is education a basic human right. My children are now finished with the public school system, but my taxes are still paying for someone else's children to attend public school from K- 12th grade.

Every child is ENTITLED to a FREE PUBLIC EDUCATION at someone elses expense.

I will repeat my mantra- no one ever died because they could not do long division, or diagram a sentence. People are dying due to inability to obtain affordable health care. Why then, is a public, taxpayer funded education, a right that it entitled to every child in the United States, and health care is not?

The arguement about the Constition, what it says, allows, blah blah,blah, is ridulous. It was written to be fluid enough to allow for changes in society, that could not have been anticipated 200 + years ago. Health care was not even in the picture 200 years ago. Education was hit and miss for most people and families.

Why then is education offered to every child? Because it is deemed that an educated society benefits everyone. A healthy society free from the threat of crippling medical bills, allowing for everyone to obtain the health care that they need to say healthy, benefits everyone in society, not just the individual.

THAT IS WHY , health care is a human right, and needs to be more so, than a publicly funded education system. JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Somewhere in the PACNW

Specializes in Critical Care.

thank you lindarn,

I cannot believe i have not thought of that. Especially since the only thing more broken than health care is public education.

Specializes in geriatrics.

Consider this also: One of the reasons why America has experienced such a devastating economic downturn is directly related to your health care system. It's wonderful when things are booming, and the majority can afford health care. However, the majority cannot afford to pay for health care at the moment. As a result, you have a sicker population in addition to high unemployment. So, nobody wins. There needs to be a happy medium.

Specializes in ICU.

Never mind.

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