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Bria Jones
January 26, 2014
Health & Quality of Life
Dr. Moore-Harrison
Should Health Care Be a Right?

Health care is the largest industry in the United States and it contributes to a major part of
the economy. However, about many people are living without health insurance. Polls show that
more than half of Americans agree that health care should be a right. The United States has a
substantially high infant mortality rate and ranks 23
rd
in life expectancy at birth, so improving the
country with universal health care should be considered. The topic of whether health care should
be a right is an ongoing debate, but I think there is a clear consensus that the people of America
would mostly agree on. The fact there this is still a debate, however, means that there are still
some unresolved conflicts.
Everyone deserves healthcare because no one is invincible and accidents happen. When
our founding fathers wrote the constitution in the late 1780s, they clearly stated our rights were
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If you look loosely into the constitution, the Life
aspect could consider health care because being healthy and getting medical attention when in
need is a part of life. If health care isnt considered a right, it can be deprecating to the people of
lower financial status. As a result, this could lead to a life of sickness and infection while those in
higher financial classes are able to obtain the best health care and doctors based on their ability
to afford this care. Some people of low economic classes without health care may have to get
chemo therapy, so theyre now faced with the choice of furthering their debt and even going
bankrupt, or simply not getting the treatment they need and deserve. I came across a quote that
stated Health care is a right for all Americans because the Preamble of the US Constitution
states its purpose is to "promote the general welfare" of the people. Just as all Americans have
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the right to an education, they should have the right to health care because they both promote the
general welfare. (ProConorg Headlines) This further supports my argument as to why health
care should be considered a right.
In order to understand the perspective of why health care shouldnt be a right, you have
to think of the conservative mindset. Conservatives believe in a more independent society with
limited government, so for the government to essentially take care of them by giving out health
care to everyone goes against what they believe in. They also believe the lower economic class
and the elderly already have health care, Medicare and Medicaid. Those who dont stand for
health care becoming a right are also concerned about the economy, Providing a right to health
care is socialism and is bad for economic productivity. Socialized medicine is comparable
to food stamps, housing subsidies, and welfare--all of which is charity. Distributing charity to
society makes people lazy, decreases the incentive for people to strive for excellence, and
inhibits productivity. (ProConorg Headlines)
I believe health care should be a right. As stated previously, its unfair for a person to
have to choose between life and death because they cannot afford health care. With President
Obama trying to install Obama Care is a very good thing, especially for the people with a low
income. There are already big health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, but what
about the people who dont have a job with quality health care benefits, yet they make too much
to be considered for Medicaid. Those issues can cause a lot of financial strains on a person, so
affordable health care should be a right to stop the filing of bankruptcies and the well-being of
everyone would be a lot better.


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Works Cited
"Historical Background." Historical Background. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
"Right to Health Care ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.
"Student Voices." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.