The Impossibility of a Right to Health Care

Philosophically, there can be no right to health care since fulfillment of that right for some must makes slaves of others. Yet, the more powerful argument is that the definition and enforcement of such an illusory right is in fact impossible. Thus, there can be no right to health care in theory or reality or anywhere else.

The best elaboration of this argument I have seen is in a new paper–

http://www.policynetwork.net/sites/default/files/righttohealth.pdf

–by Jacob Mchangama, head of legal affairs at CEPOS, Copenhagen.

Here’s an excerpt:

It is not clear that widespread official promulgation of the right to the highest attainable health has made any
difference to health outcomes anywhere in the world. On the contrary, its ideologically driven expansion risks undermining
the rule of law, stifling political pluralism, reducing individual and economic freedom and options for
effective policymaking.

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With various health-related rights now included in numerous international human rights treaties ratified by a majority
of the world’s states, and at the basis of much development policy, a rights-based approach to health would appear to be uncontroversial. But when it comes to enforcing and implementing the right to health, it not only becomes practically and legally difficult. The right to health may actually undermine the efforts to improve health for all.

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8:47 am on December 29, 2009