Healthcare is a Human Right

Universal access to health care, without discrimination, is a human right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

There is a healthcare crisis in the United States, with countless people unable to access life -saving care due to cost. This has a disproportionate impact on people already marginalized due to  socio-economic status, racial identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, immigration status, and other factors.

Instead of treating healthcare as a partisan political issue, it should be addressed as a human rights issue. That would mean putting in place a system of universal, equitable, non-discriminatory health care; giving priority to a single-payer, publicly-funded system, so as to guarantee access to comprehensive, quality care for all people as a right and a public good.

Resources

TAKE ACTION

Urge your elected officials to address healthcare as a human rights issue

Instructions
  • Personalize the sample message below and deliver it to the local offices of your two federal senators and your federal representative via letter, e-mail, phone call or in person meeting.
  • You are also welcome to share with their social media accounts, or turn this into an opinion piece in your local newspaper or a Letter to the Editor.
  • Please let us know if you took action or if you would like to get more involved by emailing us at: [email protected].
Sample Message

Dear ______,

As your constituent, I urge you to address the healthcare crisis in the United States as a human rights issue. People are dying because of lack of access; homes being lost to bankruptcy due to a cancer diagnosis. It is time to treat healthcare as a human right, and not a partisan issue.

That will mean putting in place a universal, equitable, non-discriminatory health care system; giving priority to a single-payer, publicly-funded system, so as to guarantee access to comprehensive, quality care for all people as a right, and a public good.

Too many people are unable to access life-saving care due to cost, with a disproportionate impact on people already marginalized due to socio-economic status, racial identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, immigration status and other factors.

It is time to stop treating healthcare as a political issue, and instead make it available to all who need it.

Yours sincerely,

______