If Health Care is a Responsibility, Why Is It a Right in Prison?

One of the ideological divides during the health care reform battle was whether health care is a right, a responsibility, or a privilege; conservatives tend to think of it as a responsibility, while liberals like to call it a right. Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, among others referred to health care reform as the "Civil Rights Act of the 21st century." Interestingly, health care is a right in some contexts under the law.

Earlier this year, a panel of federal judges ordered California to release approximately 46,000 inmates on the premise that overcrowding (currently at about 200% of capacity) was the "primary cause" of inadequate physical and mental health care in the state's prisons. The panel accepted the argument that depriving prisoners of adequate health care is a violation of the Eighth Amendment as cruel and unusual punishment. This fall, the Supreme Court will determine whether the panel was out of line in their release order, but the Court is not questioning whether deprivation of health care is cruel and unusual - it is.

If prison inmates are constitutionally guaranteed health care, then we can safely rule out the notion that health care is a privilege. Obviously, prisons must provide services that inmates cannot for themselves, including going to a doctor. Still, it makes you wonder, legally and ethically, if health care is a constitutional right for prison inmates, why not for everyone?

Pema Levy is a staff writer for Campus Progress.