[E]veryone in the United States has the human right to health care. . . . This means that benefits and contributions should be shared fairly to create a system that works for everyone . . . [and] that the U.S. government has a responsibility to ensure that care comes first.
Amnesty International USA has launched a petition calling on Americans to declare that health care is a human right, not a commodity. The petition emerges from the work of a new Health Care is a Human Right Coalition, which includes Amnesty International USA, the National Social & Economic Rights Initiative (NESRI), the National Health Law Program (NHeLP), and The Opportunity Agenda.
The petition urges elected officials to deliver a U.S. health care system that fulfills the human right to health care and meets the core principles of universality, equity, and accountability. It states that “publicly financed and administered health care should be expanded as the strongest vehicle for making health care accessible and accountable to the people."
You can sign a short version of the petition online at the Amnesty International USA website, and view the full petition at NESRI’s website.
Read more at The Opportunity Agenda’s blog.
