Constitution doesn’t mention health care

Richard McCord, Henderson

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 | 2:01 a.m.

I have asked my liberal friends, “If I buy my health care directly from my doctor, why would you require me to pay taxes to buy health care for other people?” They usually answer, “Because everyone has a right to health care, and we are all in this together.”

My question then is, “So was I born with an obligation to work to pay for someone else’s health care?” At this point, they will say something like, “You’re already paying for other people’s health care,” or, “That’s the wrong way to look at it,” or, “That sounds selfish,” or just “Yes.”

If health care is a right, then the government must provide for it, as it does national defense and public safety and a judicial system. If it is not, then government has no more business being involved in it than it has in grocery stores or hotels or automobiles. So is health care a right?

Our U.S. Constitution enumerates our rights. Their common characteristic is that they are about what government may not do to us. None of them says what others must do for us.

Health care is something that must be produced by doctors, hospitals, drug companies, and on and on. If we have a right to it, then we have a right to make others produce it and have others pay for it.

Our national debate on health care is going to decide much about the future prosperity of our nation. We need to base the debate on sound philosophical principles. If we do not, we may do damage that cannot be undone.