Health care can not possibly be a right in our society unless it is considered acceptable to retract the rights of others to pursue their own livelihoods. Typically, health care being a right is an assertion that usually follows any discussion about one’s ability to pay for such services. For one citizen to believe that they have a right to complimentary health care is to further believe that another citizen must have the obligation to provide that care, thus denying that person their own rights as a citizen. Nobody in our society should have the expectation of entitlement that depends on the efforts of others, or alternatively, no citizen has a right to infringe on another person’s living. It is no different than believing that a homebuilder should not be compelled to build a house for another because they are homeless, nor should a car dealer be forced to provide a car to someone that does not have one. In general, most rights that are recognized are regarded as negative rights meaning we are free to pursue something in life without interference; this is opposed to positive rights that obligate a person into action on behalf of another. Positive rights are acknowledged in our society, but complimentary receipt of them should not be expected, otherwise the rights of one are trampled in order to accommodate the other.

As human beings we want to believe that health care is a right simply to demonstrate that we are creatures of compassion with a properly functioning moral compass. It would seem less than civilized to not consider health care to be an entitlement, but the truth is that such care must be provided by other citizens that also have rights and freedoms that must be respected. Simply transferring a right from one person to another is not doing anything for our society, nor will it ever. We humans have a great capacity to help others if it remains our choice to do so, but that becomes very limited once it is forced upon us. All of us have a right to pursue quality health care, but not at the expense of our fellow citizens. Adding this perspective to the dialogue paints a more comprehensive picture and accordingly it becomes obvious that health care can not be a right because it violates the rights of another; it should be viewed as a privilege to be “pursued” regardless of how uncaring or objectionable that may sound. It is an imperfect world that we live in and there is a cost to everything that must be paid, so it stands to reason that consumers should compensate providers for any goods or services they receive and not expect others to be obligated. Subscribing to this tried and true practice ensures that everyone’s rights remain intact thereby alleviating this whole debate.