Health Care MAY be A Right, BUT...

In a very contentious election year, it appears that the rights of individuals have taken center stage. In Virginia, it is the right to keep and bear arms that is under fire. And freedom of speech is being contested by many on the left as they seek to get conservative discourse banned from campuses and on the internet.

And now many on the left have decided for themselves that they somehow have a right to health care. Maybe that is so - let's assume for a moment that there is some unspoken right to health care. I will accept that - provided they will accept a truth - that every right comes with responsibilities. If they cannot accept that basic premise, then their argument goes right out the window.

The right to free speech comes with the responsibility to not defame, not incite violence and to not "bear false witness". The right to keep and bear arms comes with the responsibility to learn safe use, and to not use them unlawfully. And the right to vote comes with the responsibility to be well-informed.

Any right to health care would necessitate that people make lifestyle choices that are not detrimental to health. Smoking, drinking to excess, use of illegal drugs and unhealthy food choices all contribute heavily to costly health care issues. If health care is a right, those costs are paid for by everyone. No one has any right to impose excess financial burden on others simply because they choose unhealthy lifestyles.

Therefore, if health care is to be a right, then the people need to choose healthy lifestyles. And like violators of any other "right", if a person chooses an unhealthy lifestyle, he no longer has the protection of the right to health care, just like a gun-wielding criminal loses his right to keep and bear arms, or a perjurer goes to prison.

Life comes with responsibilities, like it or not. Health care should be a right, but like any other right an individual can forfeit it if he or she fails to live up to the responsibilities it comes with.

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