Do Americans Have a "Right" to Healthcare?

In answering this question, we must first see what the question is really asking. It is asking: Should the government provide Americans with either free health care or free health insurance, based upon the "Rights" guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States. That is: forcibly take money away from our citizens to spend in the administration of a government mandated healthcare dispensing mechanism.

The quick answer is of course "no." There is no such right specifically granted in the Constitution's Bill of Rights. But this is widely known. So what the question is actually asking is: If we look at the types of "Rights" that are guaranteed by Constitution, could we extrapolate, or construe that a "healthcare right" might be latently within the intent of the Constitution as to justify its implementation in our modern times? If there are similar rights, then we can make the case that these rights would be consistent with a right to mandatory government provided health care.

To begin this exploration, we need to look discerningly at all the "Rights" that are actually granted by the Constitution, and see what their intent was and how they compare to today's concept of "a right to healthcare."

Let's start systematically with The First Amendment: Freedom of Religion. This right is to prevent the government from setting up a state religion or a federally preferred practice of religion. It further allows you to not be unnecessarily restricted in the practice of your faith. This Right nowhere sets up a government agency requiring all citizens to pick and choose from a menu of religions and then force the government pay for your practice of it. Can you imagine some one claiming that the government has a humanitarian duty to pay your tithe for you?

Now let's look the second fundamental American right - "The Right to Bear Arms." This was designed to stop the government from disarming the population. In health care terms, this would mean this type of Right would say that the government could not prevent you from seeking treatment. In reality, just such a restriction is part and parcel of all current government run single payer healthcare systems. Going to a private doctor is outlawed - A clear violation of our Second Amendment American Constitutional Right test.

Now, let's see if the "government provided" concept part of "the right to healthcare" can be seen in the "Right to Bear Arms." If this were true, then this Right would mean that
American citizens should expect the government to "provide" them with a weapon! Not even the most ardent First Amendment defender has ever proposed that the Federal Government must buy a gun for every citizen in the country.

Next: the Right to the Freedom of the Press. The government can not restrict the expression of your opinion, whether individually, organized or commercially. To be similar a Right to Healthcare, the government would have to set up a Free Speech Administration which is the only mechanism through which one can voice their opinion. They could call it the Peoples Voice, which would be a euphemism for State Ownership of the Press. Again it appears to be the exact opposite of the type of freedoms guaranteed by America's Constitution.

So it all boils down to American Rights are about freedom from government intrusion into our lives. It was never about guaranteeing the expectation of free social services. Once again, as is true with most all "Liberal Speak": the truth is the exact literal opposite of the implied meaning.

How is it possible that the Left is so intent on proposing that a right to health care exists in America, but it is has always been the Conservatives who were so staunch about keeping American true to its Constitutional roots? As this exercise illustrates, it must be that the Left has ignored the Constitution for so long, they clearly have no idea what it really says or means. This ignorance has led them to imagine that it probably means whatever they want it to mean at the time, after all they are Americans too, aren't they? While the Right not only knows what the Constitution says, they wisely love it, revere it, and understand how essential and instrumental it is in making and keeping this country vital and exemplary. Namely, it is Freedom that accomplishes what no other political and economic concept can.

Finally, as an economist, let me briefly address the concept of "Free." There is no such thing as free. No matter which segment of society the government collects taxes from it will be the working citizen whose sweat creates the wealth, whether he eventually pays it over to corporations or directly to government. The second certainty is that every dollar the government takes out of the economy by collecting taxes has a "multiplier" effect of reducing overall economic activity. Borrowing money to do so only ensures that one is paying even more for the same dollar.