In the second presidential debate, moderator Tom Brokaw asked
the candidates whether health care is a privilege, a
responsibility, or a right. John McCain answered privilege,
while Barack Obama said that health care is a right. With nearly
46 million Americans uninsured, and millions more unable to meet
their medical expenses despite having insurance, the notion of
an American right to health care seems far from today’s reality.
But a human right to health care is deeply rooted in our
national history and values, and is broadly supported by the
American people. It is an idea whose time has come. After
leading our country out of the Great Depression, Franklin
Roosevelt voiced the connection between health care and the
Founding Fathers’ vision of inalienable rights to life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. In his 1944 State of the Union
address, Roosevelt explained that Americans have come to embrace
a “second bill of rights” alongside the civil liberties set out
in the Constitution. Those rights, FDR dec