On personal responsibility and the human right to healthcare

Y Denier - Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 2005 - cambridge.org
Y Denier
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 2005cambridge.org
Does a human right to healthcare imply individual obligations to healthy behavior? Or put
another way: Is a self-induced condition a relevant criterion for some sort of restriction of this
right—like withholding or modifying treatment in circumstances where choices have to be
made? For instance, should a drunk driver bear the costs of medical care that he needs after
a car accident he has caused? Should there be a difference in healthcare entitlements
between the smoker with a heart attack who is seriously overweight and the 60-year old man …
Does a human right to healthcare imply individual obligations to healthy behavior? Or put another way: Is a self-induced condition a relevant criterion for some sort of restriction of this right—like withholding or modifying treatment in circumstances where choices have to be made? For instance, should a drunk driver bear the costs of medical care that he needs after a car accident he has caused? Should there be a difference in healthcare entitlements between the smoker with a heart attack who is seriously overweight and the 60-year old man who has always taken excellent care of himself and is suddenly stricken by leukemia? And how should we think about the risk-taking behavior of all the persons going on a skiing holiday or an exotic hiking trip?I am grateful to Claire Dawson, Kurt Devooght, Bart Engelen, Doris Schroeder, Ronald Tinnevelt, Toon Vandevelde, and two anonymous reviewers for their editorial assistance and helpful comments on a previous draft.
Cambridge University Press