Ethical And Social Issues Of The Healthcare - Assignment Example

Ethical And Social Issues Of The Healthcare Introduction Healthcare has always been a hotly debated issue in contemporary society. There is ongoing conflict in society as to whether healthcare is a privilege or a legitimate human right. However, before this question can be answered, it is necessary to define healthcare. Healthcare is the treatment, diagnosis, and steps taken to prevent disease, injury and illness as a means of sustaining the well-being of human beings. From an ethics perspective, there are many in global society that adhere to the principles of deontology, an ideology that states it is the primary obligation of society members to sustain respect and commitment for others while working to effectively promote the well-being of humans (Mack, 1998). Additionally, Hume (2002) offers that it should be a guiding principle, a bound of duty, that society should seek to maximize the utility of others, or the pursuit of maximizing one’s satisfaction and the fulfillment of their needs (Roberts, 2011). Furthermore, the United Nations has defined as inalienable protections from degrading or cruel treatment and the right to avoid exploitation by society or government. Individuals in society that do not have adequate resources to receive adequate healthcare are exposed to cruelty as they are denied treatment and illness prevention services which has implications for sustaining their well-being and even social status. Healthcare should not be limited to individuals who have ample financial capital, which is the primary definition of privilege. Healthcare is a right because without it, it exploits an individual, leaves a person in a degrading social position, and does not improve their personal utility which is a fundamental obligation of an ethical society. Exploitation The United Nations, an organization consisting of 193 different member nations, has established a charter indicating a set of universal human rights that should ensure no individual in global society be exploited by society or government (Fomerand, 2009). Individuals who are denied health care are absolutely being exploited, oppressed by capitalistic systems in which the value of money outweighs the value of human life. With the majority of the world adopting the ideology of capitalism, a system in which capital goods and services (namely healthcare) are exchanged for price (Degen, 2008), many individuals in society are compared to pricing mechanisms which forbid access to important services as a result of sustaining minimal resources. Healthcare, therefore, is a right and not a privilege. Human rights guarantee that individuals have access to proper sanitation, appropriate and healthy foods, and a clean environment. Exploitation is a type of abuse and those who are denied healthcare are exposed to contaminated environments where disease is prevalent and are not given healthy food products which prevent illness as a result of society and government placing more emphasis on the value of money over that of human worth. Even though the privileged are given healthcare as a result of capitalism, those who maintain inferior resources are being abused substantially. A Degrading Social Position Very large populations of global citizens continue to live in poverty and sustain many different health needs and concerns as a result of this destitution. Using the United States as an example, the government spends only 18 percent of GDP on healthcare services, however 48 percent of the population is denied healthcare as a result of their limited financial positions. Even though America considers itself a model by which other nations should mold their systems, the government allows this inequality to endure (Orentlicher, 2012). This places individuals who have been denied healthcare into a socially degrading position, which violates established and universal codes of human rights as defined by the United Nations. Social inequality is highly degrading. In America, the recent Affordable Health Care Act established by President Barack Obama is a form of legislation that discriminates and allows for this demeaning and humiliating inequality. Referred to as Obamacare, the legislation mandates that individuals sign up for these services or face a sizeable penalty. Obamacare costs between three and 9.5 percent of an individual’s income, hence for some in society it is highly exorbitant. Therefore, individuals who are unable to afford the healthcare program must succumb to shameful social exposure, yet another violation of fundamental and established human rights ideology. Failing to Address Maximization of Human Utility Hume (2002) iterated that it is a fundamental obligation of all members of society to seek maximization of others’ utility as a guiding and binding principle. Hooker (2011) reinforces this, stating that the responsibility of society members is to make large self-sacrifices as a primary call of duty to ensure that the satisfaction levels of others are enhanced. This is an ethical premise and ideology that ensures all members of society consistently concern themselves with the well-being of others and, to deny this obligation, means to be unethical, dishonorable and even immoral. When medical practitioners and government deny access to healthcare as a result of having limited economic resources, they are not making the appropriate self-sacrifices necessary to enhance the welfare and safety of others; their utility. The maximization of utility is a fundamental human right and when healthcare services are disallowed to certain members of society, it is provided only to the privileged, which is a violation of inalienable civil liberties. Morality is thrown, proverbially, right out the window in this case and those who have forbidden healthcare access are violating the most basic of human rights, forcing the denied to face disgrace and debasing lack of consideration for their personal utility. Conclusion It is believed that in a democratic society, such as the United States, every individual should be afforded basic human rights. This means that healthcare should not be confined to only privileged groups of individuals who can actively afford it. Segregating who should receive healthcare, whether as a result of capitalism or general social selfishness, leaves the denied individual exploited, degraded, and impacts their utility level which is a violation of established moral and ethical principles. Healthcare, therefore, is a fundamental human right and absolutely not a privilege. References Degen, R. (2008). The Triumph of Capitalism (1st ed.). New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. Fomerand, J. (2009). The A to Z of the United Nations. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. Hooker, B. (2011). The Demandingness Objection, in T. Chappell, The Problem of Moral Demandingness: New Philosophical Essays. Palgrave MacMillan. Mack, E. (1998), Deontic restrictions are not agent-relative restrictions, Social Philosophy & Policy, 15(2). Orentlicher, D. (2012). Right to Healthcare in the United States: Inherently Unstable, American Journal of Law and Medicine, 38(326). Roberts, S.C. (2011). Applied Evolutionary Psychology. 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