Why Is Health Care a Fundamental Human Right - Essay Example

Health care is a basic human right that should be provided by the 5 Health care is a basic human right that should be providedby the state. With the recognition of human rights, there have been many debates regarding the issue. These are the civil liberties that are supposed to be enjoyed by an individual. This is due to the fact that a human being has the right to his existence and a good quality of life. Health care is a subject which has been considered by many to be a human right and it has been argued that it is the responsibility of the state to provide its citizens with health care. Health is the factor that affects every part of an individuals life. Good health leads to a prosperous life. The concept of health is known to everyone but the meaning that individuals derive from this term vary from person to person and group to group. The concept of health for children differs from that of the teenagers. The understanding of health according to gender classification also gives a different result and so on. This paper will encompass the aspect that whether health care is a human right as was proposed by United Nations in the year 1948 in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 25 of The Charter that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of oneself and one’s family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care.”(UNITED NATIONS [online]“Universal Declaration of Human Rights”). It will further elaborate that whether it is the responsibility of the state to provide health care to all its citizens considering the fact that it is counted as a basic human right. “Every person has the right to adequate food, housing, clothing and health care.” This statement provides for the working manifesto of the National Health Care for the Homelessness Council which it adopted in the year 1991 and has been working towards it (NATIONAL HEALTH CARE FOR THE HOMELESS COUNCIL [online] Human Rights, “Homelessness and Health Care”). The superpower of the world the United States of America does not guarantee health care facilities to all its nationals as a right. The health sector in the United States provides health care and intervention only for the elderly, people suffering from disabilities and the children who do not receive proper attention and care. Thus the government of one one of the leading countries on the globe does not consider a basic human right to be provided by the state to its citizens. This can be seen from the fact that 46 million Americans did not have any health insurance by the year 2009 and those who were already insured did not also feel secure about it. Thus a large number of people lie at the risk that they would not be provided with proper health care in times and needs of intervention (KENNEDY, E. 2009 [online] “Health Care as a Basic Human Right: Moving from Lip Service to Reality”). There have been opponents to the fact that health care is a basic human right like Philip Barlow who is himself a neurosurgeon. He argues that are the terms that define health care restricted to the fact that a person should be given access to water and food or does it imply to the fact that every human being has the right to undergo the procedures of “cosmetic surgery” or other such luxurious procedures or have access the most costly medications. He argues that a proper definition to the term health care itself is not understood and that health care is not a basic human right. From his argument it is concluded that when health care is not a human right then why should the state be obliged to provide for it (BARLOW P. 1999 [online] “Health care is not a human right”). The declaration of health care as a basic human right has been done by the United Nations itself in its charter. But what actually needs to be implemented is the fact that the state should recognize this as a human right for all its citizens. Every human being possesses the right to at least live his life with a proper health. Brazil offers a perfect example for nations like United States which probably consider that a health benefit for all its individuals would prove to be a burden on the government accounts. In 1988 health care was identified as a basic human right which was to be provided by the state by the Brazilian Constitution. The government started acting on it since the year 1996. The AIDS patients who are totally dependent on medications truly benefited from it. The Brazilian government took a stand against the pharmaceutical industry to assist in the provision of easy availability of medications for the AIDS patients. Thus when a country like Brazil which is not considered a developed nation can take bold measures for its citizens then other states in the world can also work towards the implementation of health care as a basic human right. (REGIS, T. 2010.[online]“State Obligations and the Right to Health”). Every human being is equal and hence this notion clearly implies that all human beings should have access to equal opportunities and they should all be provided with the correct resources for leading a normal and healthy life. Health is an important factor for all beings and as it is counted as a human right, it is the duty of the state also to recognize it as one. After the recognition it is necessary for the state to provide it citizens to this facility so that all of them have an equal access to the medical facilities (ROURKE K. O 1993.[online] “IS THERE A HUMAN RIGHT TO HEALTH CARE?”) Thus it can be concluded that health care is a right for every human being that should be provided by the state. Health care is basically a term to explain the health issues of an individual which he seriously needs. This is because every human being is born with his basic rights. The state is elected by its citizens to take care of its basic necessities and rights. Hence it is then the duty of the state to fulfill its obligations and ensure a better living for its nationals and health care is an important aspect for leading a life with good quality. The recognition of health care as a human right was done by the United Nations and now it is for the states of the world to implement it. Brazil sets an example for all the nations of the world particularly the developed nations that when a state which is still classified as one that is in the process of development can identify health care as a basic human right then fully developed nations should not deny this right. Therefore it is the duty of a state to provide for the better health of its individuals. References: Top of Form BARLOW P. (1999). Health care is not a human right. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.). 319. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1126951/ Top of Form KENNEDY, E. (2009). Health Care as a Basic Human Right: Moving from Lip Service to Reality. Harvard Human Rights Journal. 22, 165-168. http://harvardhrj.com/2009/09/health-care-as-a-basic-human-right-moving-from-lip-service-to-reality/ Bottom of Form Bottom of Form NATIONAL HEALTH CARE FOR THE HOMELESS COUNCIL (U.S.). Because Health Care is a Right not a Privilege. Human Rights, Homelessness and Health Care. http://www.nhchc.org/humanright.html Top of Form REGIS, T. (2010). State Obligations and the Right to Health. World Poverty and Human Rights Online. http://wphr.org/2010/tessa-regis/state-obligations-and-the-right-to-health/  Bottom of Form ROURKE K. O (1993) IS THERE A HUMAN RIGHT TO HEALTH CARE? http://www.domcentral.org/study/kor/93091501.htm UNITED NATIONS. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ Read More