Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Letters

Health care is not a human right

BMJ 1999; 319 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.319.7205.321 (Published 31 July 1999) Cite this as: BMJ 1999;319:321

Rapid Response:

Re: "health care is not a human right"

It is worth to classify human rights to traditional and new, inspired
by changes of XIX century. When freedom of speach and right for life are
tradtional and do not demand efforts from anybody - just to accept that
people born equal, the right for health care is new and special.

Right for health care may be accepted as a human right only if
citizens accept: 1) their mutual responsibility for common and personal
safety; 2) that their life and health depends not only from their personal
habits and income, but from health, habits, vaccination etc. of all people
around. If this understanding is achieved, then one step to recognise that
society MUST provide health care and that access to health care is a human
right.

The problem is how far we can go in this direction? Can we enforce
vaccination? Vitamins supplementation in pregnancy? Birth pills?
(National) Socialism is just around the corner!

Competing interests: No competing interests

05 August 1999
V Vlassov
Professor
Saratov Medical university, Russia