Abstract
The starting point for this chapter is the understanding that access to healthcare is a universal right of all humans and cannot be reduced to an object of consumption that is only accessible to people with the economic capacity to acquire it. The theoretical reference point for this focus is UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, in its articles 10, 14, and 15, which deal, respectively, with “equality, justice, and equity,” “social responsibility and health,” and “sharing of benefits,” along with the interrelations and complementarity that exist between these principles. This chapter is presented with division into three topics. Firstly, the reasons for choosing human rights as the foundation for studies are discussed, and some theoretical reference points enabling better comprehension of the basis that sustains the ideas presented are developed. Following this, equity is presented as an indispensable principle that should be incorporated into the discussion, thus reinforcing the understanding that unequal people and populations should be treated in a compensatory manner, with the aim of seeking true equality based on the humanitarian disposition of recognizing every individual’s rights starting from their needs and differences. Lastly, this chapter seeks to address the difficult problem of prioritizing the allocation of scarce resources so that access to healthcare is enabled for as many people as possible. This entry therefore intends to show that access to healthcare for all people, independent of their income level, should be considered to be a human right and that going beyond the obligations of governments and the private sector to support inclusive programs, the struggle of social movements towards better living and health conditions for all people without distinction should also be considered to be legitimate.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berlinguer, G. (1996a). Ética da saúde. São Paulo: Hucitec.
Berlinguer, G. (1996b). 15 anos errando pela América Latina. In C. Eibenschutz (Ed.), Política de saúde: o público e o privado (pp. 19–27). Rio de Janeiro: Editora Fiocruz.
Berlinguer, G., & Garrafa, V. (1996). La merce finale – saggio sulla compravendita di parti del corpo umano. Milano: Baldini & Castoldi.
Bryant, J., Khan, K., & Hyder, A. (1996). Ethics, equity and renewal of WHO’s health-for-all strategy. Genebra: World Health Organization. Mimeo.
Callahan, D. (1994). Porre dei limiti: problemi etici e antropologici. L’Arco di Giano: Rivista di Medical Humanities, 4, 75–86. Roma.
Callahan, D. (2015). How I lost – Or found? My way in bioethics. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 24(3), 246–251.
Castro, J. (1948). Geografia da Fome (2ªth ed.). Rio de Janeiro: Empresa Gráfica O Cruzeiro.
Castro, J. (1951). Geopolítica da Fome (1ªth ed.). Rio de Janeiro: Gráfica Olímpica Editora.
Garrafa, V. (1995). Dimensão da ética em saúde pública. São Paulo: Faculdade de Saúde Pública USP/Kellog Foundation.
Garrafa, V., Oselka, G., & Diniz, D. (1997). Public health, bioethics and equity. Bioética, 5(1), 23–33.
Harris, J. (1988). More and better justice. In S. Mendus & M. Bell (Eds.), Philosophy and medical welfare (pp. 75–97). Cambridge: University Press.
Jonas, H. (1990). Il principio responsabilità. Turim: Einaudi Editore.
Montagnier, L. (1991). Chi avrà il diritto a essere curato? il mondo fra dieci anni. Milano: La Stampa. Intervista colletiva alla stampa europea.
Rawls, J. (1999). A theory of justice (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Sen, A., & Kliksberg, B. (2010). As pessoas em primeiro lugar – a ética do desenvolvimento e os problemas no mundo globalizado. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.
UNESCO (2005). Universal declaration on bioethics and human rights. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001461/146180S.PDF
Further Readings
Berlinguer, G. (2015). Bioética Cotidiana. (1a. reimpressão). Brasília: Editora Universidade de Brasília (Original: Everyday bioethics. Reflections on bioethical choices in daily life. Amityville: Baywood Publishing Company, 2003).
Callahan, D. (1995). What kind of life: The limits of medical progress. Washington, DC: Georgetown University.
Daniels, N. (2007). Just healthy – meeting health needs fairly. USA: Cambridge.
Illich, I. (1975). Medical nemesis. The expropriation of health. London: Calders & Boyars.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Garrafa, V. (2015). Access to Healthcare. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_4-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_4-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05544-2
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities