The Ethical Dimensions of the Health Care Reform Debate

To get this whole blog thing going, here's something to consider — two things, actually. Two very insightful articles about the ethical issues raised by the current debate on health care reform. Cohen talks about the rhetoric used by critics of the public option in the Senate health care reform bill, accusing them of being intellectually dishonest (why don't we have a Debate Umpire to supervise public discourse?). Singer explains why avoiding any discussion of "rationing" health care for fear of sparking opposition is both unrealistic and unethical. He says that health care will inevitably be rationed in some way or another (by ability to pay, by access to advanced medical technology, etc), and we should not—and cannot afford to — forgo responsibility in making these tough decisions.

How Not to Talk About Health Care, by Randy Cohen

Why We Must Ration Health Care, by Peter Singer