No One Should Have to Prove Their Worth to Get Medical Care, Regardless of Addiction or Pain

Comparing pain and addiction stories provides a unique insight into the way these issues are seen through different moral lenses. Addiction stories are tales of sin and redemption, while pain narratives focus on suffering and worthiness of care. In order to improve ethical treatment of both conditions, we cannot continue to see addiction as immorality and patient abandonment or criminalization as an acceptable approach to it.