Health Care not a Right?

Bishop Nickless of Sioux City, South Dakota weighed in on the Health Care Reform debate. He did so as a Bishop, reiterating the teaching of the Catholic Magisterium. I found this comment in particular to be very enlightening (and long-since forgotten by the public at large): "The Catholic Church does not teach that “health care” as such, without distinction, is a natural right. The “natural right” of health care is the divine bounty of food, water, and air without which all of us quickly die. This bounty comes from God directly. None of us own it, and none of us can morally withhold it from others. The remainder of health care is a political, not a natural, right, because it comes from our human efforts, creativity, and compassion. As a political right, health care should be apportioned according to need, not ability to pay or to benefit from the care. We reject the rationing of care. Those who are sickest should get the most care, regardless of age, status, or wealth. But how to do this is not self-evident. The decisions that we must collectively make about how to administer health care therefore fall under “prudential judgment.”

Finally a Bishop who speaks clearly on this! Check out the rest of his article, equally good.

-Amator