Healthcare Debate

I am not saying I agree with 'Morning's Minion' over at Vox Nova, but I think this post he wrote is something worth thinking about. CST does teach the universal right to healthcare and the duty of society to provide it. It is our role as the laity to come up with effective solutions to the problem of the uninsured members of society. I think Morning's Minion could open up to other possibilities other than the single payer system and regulated private provision, but doing nothing to help the uninsured receive healthcare is not acceptable in the eyes of CST.

We do need healthcare for everyone. We do need to debate what our options are. And so I think his post is something worth thinking about. Full post here.

Highlights:

Let me begin with a simple assertion: the Catholic Church views access to healthcare as a basic human right. To the extent possible, societies are obligated to provide healthcare for all people who live under their jurisdiction. This is a fundamental principle of justice. Consider some evidence for this:

Catechism: “Concern for the health of its citizens requires that society help in the attainment of living-conditions that allow them to grow and reach maturity: food and clothing, housing, health care, basic education, employment, and social assistance”.

John XXIII: “Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services. In consequence, he has the right to be looked after in the event of ill-health; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood”.