Nery Garcia

Mr. Mannes
General Paper
December 4, 2015
Priority in Medical Treatment
From smokers, to alcoholics, to even with people that have obesity,
they all seek medical attention. Some would say that these types of people
should not have priority in getting medical treatment, or even that they
should have priority. But why should someone treat someone else poorly or
better based on what they have done to themselves? If someone is trying to
receive medical treatment they should not be denied it because they smoke
or drink alcohol. A persons medical treatment and attention should be based
on sick a person is. Though it might seem easier to brush the people off that
caused their medical problems to the end of the list of those who are seeking
medical attention, doctors should not have a say on who they can or cannot
treat and people should not be denied medical care regardless of what they
do to their body.
While most people believe that different types of people should have
priority of medical treatment, everyone who is out seeking medical
treatment should be treated the same. According to the the Guardian, 1,096
doctors took a survey on NHS should have the right to withhold nonemergency treatment from patients who do not lose weight or stop
smoking, and fifty-four per cent (593) who took the survey said yes, they

should withhold treatment. Some medics believe unhealthy behavior can

make procedures less likely to work, and that the services are not obligated
to give them scarce resources. On the other hand, senior doctors and patient
groups believe that withholding medical treatment is blackmailing of the
sick, and denial of their human rights. It is not a doctors job to decide who is
worthy enough to be treated, but to treat the illness and perform whatever
surgery is necessary to help their patient.
Regardless of what a person does to their body they should not be
denied any medical care. If a person is sick and needs medical care, then the
morally thing to do is give them it. For instance, cases similar to Leo Orn
(plaintiff appellant) v. Michael J. Asture (commissioner of Social Security,
defendant appellee), Orn was denied the medical treatment he actually
needed because he is obese and his obesity caused many other medical
problems that interfered with is daily living at home and in the work place.
According to social security he was not considered disabled even with all of
his problems. The court concluded that Orn is disabled, therefore the
decision of the district court was reversed and instructions for benefits were
left.
In most cases people do tend to put their personal opinions in their
work, and most of the time it is not needed, especially with doctors.
Everyone should be treated and given medical treatment equally. Otherwise,
if doctors do not treat all of their patients correspondingly then they are
stripping people from their human rights for medicine. It may seem easier to

not give everyone the same medical attention but equality is what we all
seek and it should also be in the medical field.