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rights

Balancing Rights: Privacy v. Life

December 6, 2010 by Daniel

by Ken Connor

There’s been much controversy in recent weeks over the issue of full body scans and pat-downs at airport security checkpoints across America.  Individuals from all points on the political and ideological spectrum are angry and speaking out against practices that they assert violate civil liberties and undermine human dignity.  Much in the same way that the Patriot Act thrust the “privacy v. security” conundrum into the foreground of the public’s attention, the kerfuffle begun by John “Don’t Touch My Junk” Tyner has ignited a national debate about how far our society is willing to go to ensure the safety of air travel in America.  President Obama, for his part, acknowledges the inconvenience posed by the new TSA procedures, but insists that they are necessary to ensure our safety in an era of pervasive terror threats.Abortion protest

Upon hearing the President’s rationalization of full body scans and vigorous pat-downs, I can’t help but be struck by this Administration’s inconsistent and unprincipled approach to personal privacy issues.  Ever since the Supreme Court issued the Griswold v. Connecticut decision in 1965, the American Left has vigorously defended the constitutional “penumbras” guaranteeing an individual “right” to privacy.  This understanding of individual privacy led the Court to decide in 1973 that a woman’s right to privacy trumps her unborn child’s right to life.

Continue reading . . .

Filed Under: National, Politics Tagged With: Connor, Conservative, rights, Supreme Court

The ‘Is Health Care a Right?’ Debate

March 10, 2010 by Daniel

Obama giving speech on health care reform

As health care reform continues to be ram-rodded down the throats of the people, debate over whether it is a right or not carries on. One excellent viewpoint is offered by Walter E. Williams.

Is Health Care a Right?

Most politicians, and probably most Americans, see health care as a right. Thus, whether a person has the means to pay for medical services or not, he is nonetheless entitled to them. Let’s ask ourselves a few questions about this vision.

Say a person, let’s call him Harry, suffers from diabetes and he has no means to pay a laboratory for blood work, a doctor for treatment and a pharmacy for medication. Does Harry have a right to XYZ lab’s and Dr. Jones’ services and a prescription from a pharmacist? And, if those services are not provided without charge, should Harry be able to call for criminal sanctions against those persons for violating his rights to health care?

You say, “Williams, that would come very close to slavery if one person had the right to force someone to serve him without pay.” You’re right. Suppose instead of Harry being able to force a lab, doctor and pharmacy to provide services without pay, Congress uses its taxing power to take a couple of hundred dollars out of the paycheck of some American to give to Harry so that he could pay the lab, doctor and pharmacist. Would there be any difference in principle, namely forcibly using one person to serve the purposes of another? There would be one important strategic difference, that of concealment. Most Americans, I would hope, would be offended by the notion of directly and visibly forcing one person to serve the purposes of another. Congress’ use of the tax system to invisibly accomplish the same end is more palatable to the average American.

True rights, such as those in our Constitution, or those considered to be natural or human rights, exist simultaneously among people. That means exercise of a right by one person does not diminish those held by another. In other words, my rights to speech or travel impose no obligations on another except those of non-interference.     . . . MORE

Filed Under: National Tagged With: Health Care, rights

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