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Health as a Human Right

In: Social Issues

Submitted By kdorley89
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Pages 6
Health as a Human Right
Kathryn Dorley
University of New England

Health as a Human right to me is defined as a right and not a privilege. There are many Americans who struggle daily with healthcare. Nearly 46 million Americans are uninsured (Jenkins, 2008). Millions more are unable to meet their medical expenses despite having insurance (Jenkins, 2008). Research conducted in 2007 shows that in a survey 89 % of Americans agreed that healthcare should be considered a human right (Jenkins, 2008). Through college experience, work experience, and research, I have gained a better understanding overtime of Health as a Human Right. Growing up my understanding of health, was just going to the doctors and getting a checkup to see if I was “healthy”. My first experience I can remember knowing health was so much more than a simple cold was when my Grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s; I was 11. I never fully understood the disease until high school when I did my senior project on what it was and how it affected the body. At this point I assumed Health was just diseases that affected the body and could be cured with medicine or treatment. This was because I formed my parent’s opinion. Health in high school was more geared towards physical rather than mental. Freshman year in college I started to formulate my own opinions and understanding on the concept of health and how it is all encompassing. I began to learn that health was so much more than a cold and individuals were struggling daily with trying to go to doctors visits and afford the medicine that came along with trying to cure the symptoms that were affecting the body. College aged individuals were becoming very ill during the swine flu outbreak on my campus. This to me showed that due to the lack of insurance provided to the students, the “infirmary” as it was called was the only

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