Reply #11: I am not in favor of framing health care as a human right.

[Flatulo]

Let me preface by saying that I do believe that quality health care should be provided for all by some mechanism similar to Medicare, and that the government is the best and most cost-effective mechanism for delivering this care.

However, to declare it a human right strikes me as... bizarre. How can one claim as a human right something that requires the service of another? Human rights typically demand only the restraint of others (usually governments), not their service.

I believe that we, as humans have the right to not be dragged out of our homes and beaten and detained without charges. I believe that we have a basic human right to worship as we please, or not at all. These rights (and others) can easily be respected without demanding the service of others. It only requires restraint.

But I cannot conceive of a moral justification that allows me to demand that another human being perform a service for me without compensation. Do we make this demand under threat of force? Treat me or I will shoot you?

What about food? Shelter? A job? Straight teeth? Hair implants? Viagra? These are all demands that simply cannot be met without the implied threat of force if it is framed as a right.

Someone tell me where I am wrong here because I just don't understand this approach. I know this is a very Libertarian position, but I think they are right in this regard.

Health care should be framed as a *responsibility* of a wise government. A responsibility to maintaining a healthy, productive society that can produce goods and services that will let us compete in the global economy.