bioethics chapter 11
What arguments are there for having universal (mandated) health care coverage? (Be able to state one argument.)
utility/beneficence: we are supposed to do what is good for people. justice: we are supposed to treat everyone with equal justice. (egalitarian and utilitarian).
What is distributive justice? (What is the central question that theories of distributive justice deal with?)
justice regarding the fair distribution of society's benefits (or advantages) and burdens (or disadvantages).
Do libertarians accept the idea of a right to health care?
no.
What kinds of moral questions arise in the ethics of rationing health care resources? Give an example.
organ transplants: what criteria shelf be used to decide which patients get transplants, and who should make the decisions? pandemic: who should get priority of testing/treatment/ventilators/vaccines/etc.?
Is the right to health care (if there is such a right) a negative or positive right? Why?
positive right. It involves the notion that society has an obligation to provide health care benefits to all of its members.
What is a just system of distribution of social benefits and burdens according to the egalitarian theory of justice?
the important benefits and burdens of society should be distributed equally to all members of society.
What is a just system of distribution of social benefits and burdens according to the libertarian theory of justice?
the important benefits and burdens of society should be distributed through the fair working of a free market and the exercise of liberty rights on non-interference.
Do egalitarians accept the idea of a right to health care?
they could favor a bona fide entitlement to a share of society's health care resources (a right to a "decent minimum of healthcare).
What is a positive right? What are some examples of (purported) positive rights?
a claim on others to be treated (or aided) in some way. impose a duty to help others in their efforts to get something.
What is a negative right? What are some examples of (purported) negative rights?
a clam that ap person has on other not to be treated (or interfered with) in some way. impose a duty not to interfere with a person's obtaining something.
What is a just system of distribution of social benefits and burdens according to the contractarian theory of justice? (Recall that John Rawls' contractarian theory of justice is discussed in chapter 2.)
a just distribution of important benefits and burdens is one that free rational people would choose not knowing what their actual socio-economic position is in society--or behind a "veil of ignorance" (as per john Rawls).
What is a just system of distribution of social benefits and burdens according to the utilitarian theory of justice?
a just distribution of important benefits and burdens is one that maximizes the overall net utility for society.
How could a contractarian endorse the idea of a right to health care?
accept the idea that healthcare is a right if there would be a general agreement among free and rational people about having such a right.
What arguments are there against having universal (mandated) health care coverage? (Be able to state one argument.)
autonomy: it is wrong to force people to have healthcare coverage, and it is wrong to force people to pay for other people's treatments via taxation.
How could a utilitarian endorse the idea of a right to health care?
could endorse a derivative right to health care if having such a right would have great utility.
