Most people agree that getting a shot is not the greatest experience. People do not agree, however, on how to reform health care.
YOU Decide: Is Health Care a Privilege or a Right?
Should All Americans be Entitled to Health Care?
Supporters contend that health care is a human right, and all Americans should have ready access to affordable health care, as do citizens of other nations. Critics argue that it is not the responsibility of government to guarantee health care for its citizens.
What do you think? Examine the two sides of the argument presented below and then YOU DECIDE.
Congressman Ron Paul says NO
CONGRESSMAN RON PAUL
Political philosopher Richard Weaver famously and correctly stated that ideas have consequences. Take for example ideas about rights versus goods. Natural law states that people have rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A good is something you work for and earn. It might be a need, like food, but more “goods” seem to be becoming “rights” in our culture, and this has troubling consequences. It might seem harmless enough to decide that people have a right to things like education, employment, housing, or health care. But if we look a little further into the consequences, we can see that the workings of the community and economy are thrown wildly off balance when people accept those ideas.
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Senator Bernie Sanders says YES
SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS
As the health-care debate heats up in Washington, we as a nation have to answer two very fundamental questions. First, should all Americans be entitled to health care as a right and not a privilege–which is the way every other major country treats health care and the way we respond to such other basic needs as education, police and fire protection? Second, if we are to provide quality health care to all, how do we accomplish that in the most cost-effective way possible?
I think the answer to the first question is pretty clear . . . . Most Americans do believe that all of us should have health care coverage, and that nobody should be left out of the system. The real debate is how we accomplish that goal in an affordable and sustainable way. In that regard, I think the evidence is overwhelming that we must end the private insurance company domination of health care in our country and move toward a publicly-funded, single-payer Medicare for All approach.Read More
Dig Deeper
Does Congressman Paul believe that health care is a right? How about Senator Sanders? Which argument do you find more convincing? Why?
- Use the Internet to find the official Web site for your representatives in the U.S. Congress and Senate. (The official sites always end in .gov.) Spend time reviewing one site. Does your representative have an opinion about health-care reform? How are their views presented?
Lia Eastep
