Is healthcare a human right?

Houshphandzadeh wrote:Is healthcare a human right?

Human rights are set by the society in which we live -- time and place. In 1700, healthcare was not a human right. Today, in most countries, it is a human right. Certainly in the US, we have accepted acute healthcare as a human right. That is why emergency rooms are not allowed to turn away persons in need of service because they are uninsured and unable to pay.

some guy who has been in charge of places which fatten up america is running for president.

But though Cain has himself admitted that he would be a "dark horse" candidate, he will be greatly aided by the fact that he is a full-spectrum conservative with solid fiscal and social credentials. Christian conservatives love him, and The Club for Growth endorsed him for Senate in 2004. Cain is also close with fiscal conservative and two-time presidential candidate Steve Forbes. Depending on the field, there is great potential for him to rally conservative activists and bloggers to his cause.

Just what we need in the White House, a guy looking out for the big guy! They really have not had any friends of late.

Also, Sarah Palin's series finale was a hit!!!!! here's a comment from a conservative reader:

Loved Sarah before the show. Questioned the wisdom of doing the show. Was proven wrong. Loved her even more after the show. She found a way to circumvent the mainstream media and communicate directly with the people. She presented her case that she is indeed (at least) as qualified to be President as the current resident of the White house. One smart cookie, if you ask me. One might even say... Reaganesque.

Breaking news, as it happens!

KBH is retiring in Texas. Will probably be a bloodbath of a primary, but Michael Williams is going to get a lot of Tea Party support. It would be funny if the only black senator was a raving conservative.

Houshphandzadeh wrote:Is healthcare a human right?

I think it is one of the great shames of this country that this is even a question, particularly in light of how often this country likes to invoke its moral authority to justify military action and how frequently certain groups of its citizens claim that this country has some special relationship with or to God.

pacino wrote:Also, Sarah Palin's series finale

Mrs Palin boggles my mind as she had the opportunity for some form of atonement for political insensitivity and put her on a course toward a right of center position, but somehow achieved political tone deafness in her reaction to the tragedy. I saw a figure from last year of Palin's income and her PAC funding which clearly indicates that she could higher the best and brightest political advisers, she is, instead, either going it on her own or using some ill qualified, out of touch adviser(s). Her bumbling of the management in addressing this situation is truly unbelievable. This is magnified when you compare it to the message delivered by the sitting president last night.

mozartpc27 wrote:

Houshphandzadeh wrote:Is healthcare a human right?

I think it is one of the great shames of this country that this is even a question, particularly in light of how often this country likes to invoke its moral authority to justify military action and how frequently certain groups of its citizens claim that this country has some special relationship with or to God.

I guess I've always thought of human rights and something that people are sort of born with and that the government (if it wants to be legitimate and uphold it's end of the social contract) can't take away, but I don't know how it works with something that has to be actively applied. I guess I'm just not clear on the term, or maybe the term doesn't have much meaning.

mozartpc27 wrote:

Houshphandzadeh wrote:Is healthcare a human right?

I think it is one of the great shames of this country that this is even a question, particularly in light of how often this country likes to invoke its moral authority to justify military action and how frequently certain groups of its citizens claim that this country has some special relationship with or to God.

It is a human right in my eyes. And nothing will ever convince me otherwise.

If you want to go all Lockean I think you can make a legitimate argument that the right to quality healthcare stems from and goes hand in hand with the right to life.

Housh has raised a most thorny question--rights are entitlements, and his description is as good as any. But there is a practical difference between negative rights and positive rights.

The problem is that at least in theory it's not tough for a government to provide negative rights--it just has to leave you alone. That is, freedom of speech obligates the government to not put you in jail if you say something it doesn't like. Not hard.

But a positive right, like health care or education, obligates that the government do something. And that's tougher. Because it's no longer government, but rather society that is obligated to provide those things through taxation.

Question - what is the definition of healthcare? Obviously things like preventive medicine, emergency care, other chronic/life threatening diseases/injuries, mental health should fall under this. What about things like IVF and abortion?

In Ireland, listening to the nighttime politics show. God, I can't wait for the next election here. There will be Fianna Fail blood up the walls. Irelands preeminent political machine, a beast that would give jerz the wettest, hottest night of his most sordid imaginings, is done for. Eamonn develera is a lost energy opportunity right now.

Yeah, no one cares, but this IS the politics thread.

I care, Wiz. Even though most of my relatives over there are up north.

Wizlah wrote: Irelands preeminent political machine, a beast that would give jerz the wettest, hottest night of his most sordid imaginings

jeez, we're talking Sharon Angle/Chris Christie/Christine O'Donnell love sandwich

drsmooth wrote:

Wizlah wrote: Irelands preeminent political machine, a beast that would give jerz the wettest, hottest night of his most sordid imaginings

jeez, we're talking Sharon Angle/Chris Christie/Christine O'Donnell love sandwich

About six C-cups there.

Wiz, I was thinking about somehow getting into the distressed european debt market, perhaps hedging by shorting the euro (using etf) but Mohamed El-Arian on CNBC said there might be haircuts involved in European debt. So I care. Has anyone started using the phrase Eurojunk to describe this debt?

I'm having more fun than I should following the RNC election on twitter

I don't understand a voting system where the last place finisher doesn't get bounced. On to ballot number four, and all five candidates are still in.