Paul Farmer: I believe in health care as a human right.

[vetsaway]

I see u are using chemo for cancer treatments.This is something the US uses.It is not a cure.I cured my prostrate cancer with baking soda.I used molasses as a delivery.If i get another bought of cancer,i will use cannabis oil.If pot was legal in the US the doctors could find out what i know and several hundred thousand others here know.Ask Bill Clinton if he was one of the presidents that did all they could to keep people from reading about what cannabis oil can do for illness's.

[TheWanderingPrimate]

Dr. Farmer and his colleagues at Partners in Health are unsung contemporary heroes. Despite being of little means myself, their's is one organization I always try to make a yearly donation to. I urge anyone to learn more about the cause, and perhaps do the same.

“Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.” - Kahlil Gibran

[guyjohn59]

Did the millions of Russians that starved to death under Lenin and Stalin have 'the right' to not starve to death? Probably; but because they believed in that right, they starved to death.

[Politika1000]

you are in charge of the un now. what are you doing ????

you keep parading with clinton but you know how bad news clinton has been

for haiti

[culvereric]

@ChieftainNoah i have no problem with people giving their money to charity just not the government using our money to do so...private organizations do a good job at doing these...people should have the right to do with their money as they please...the problem is introduced then the government feels they can better allocate your money to something (in this case overseas issues) than you can

[18bites]

@culvereric Yet people like you have not a single word of complaint when our gov't spends millions to destabilize and torture poor countries like Haiti and the reason why is clear. You are willfully ignorant of such realities. The US helping Haiti is a notion about as true as "Arbeit Macht Frei" was at Auschwitz.

[culvereric]

@18bites you don't me dude....i do complain when our gov't does these things

[18bites]

@culvereric You're right. I don't know you. All I have to go on are the words that you use: "i have no problem with people giving their money to charity just not the government using our money to do so." If there were a shred of justice in global politics, our gov't would be giving reparations to countries like Haiti for the misery we've caused.

[culvereric]

@18bites I agree it is unfortunate that our gov't thinks we can be the policeman of the world and boss everyone around....but more gov't intervention is not the solution....just handing money over will not improve Haiti's economic situation just as it doesn't improve the situation of any other country...we need to let them run their own country and solve their own problems

[1984MrBenny]

"letting them run their own country" cannot be separated from the unfair economic policies that we impose on Haiti which keep them in poverty. Our actions towards Haiti in the past have entwined our fates and left us with a responsibility to improve their lot or at least to cease from actively repressing their economy for our own benefit.

[Shrunkenhead61]

Why can't they grow their own food? The power above is restricting the people to provide for each other. America is highly different, we are allowed autonomy but that gets interrupted when a government limits actions. Government is LAW, not one to do onto us. Doctors run a business and when people consume it relentlessly it stresses the doctor and people will be a burden. Money regulates supply and demand but when a vacuum is created demand is constant and supply diminishes.

[SORRYYOUREWRONGGUY]

Not in Haiti. This discussion is about Haiti, not the ranking of disease on a global scale. Again, they can't help themselves because we pretty much destroyed their government.

[culvereric]

you have a right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness........we should be a non-interventionist country and not meddle in other countries whether for good or bad....these people are a victim of circumstance but that doesn't mean they have the right for us to help......health must be given and thus costs money or the services of another....health care is a good not a right....i have no problem with this man helping out however the government shouldn't' use my money to do so as well

[SORRYYOUREWRONGGUY]

@culvereric Ignorance reigns. Our government created many of the problems in these impoverished countires like Haiti. We are in no way paying them back as much as we should be. On the issue of tax dollars; how do you feel about your tax dollars funding wars in the middle east instead of fixing international problems like that of TB and HIV?

[MichaelErkerMusic]

I believe in a better way!

[Sadier888]

Try to convince or touch these callous republicans Dr. Framer!.....Good luck

[nuppaluppagus]

this isn't about government funded health insurance in the US. everyone is missing the point. it's about compassion for people who have nothing, not even food or water, let alone medicine. most people are too selfish to spare a thought for anyone who's suffering (other than their own family/friends), and here's paul farmer giving free health care to the poor around the world, because it's the right thing to do, not because it benefits him. i wish there were more people like him in the world.

[jeffmagic32]

nobody has a right to demand free goods and services from other people.

[nuppaluppagus]

@jeffmagic32 nobody demands it. he is a hero because he gives it, unsolicited because he cares. because he believes it is his responsibility to help those who need it. a lack of compassion for those who are suffering is a major ailment afflicting us. people like him are what we need.

[jeffmagic32]

@nuppaluppagus

He can give away free health care using his own time and money. That is a right.

[jeffmagic32]

@nuppaluppagus

Do people also have the right to a free automatic food dehydrator? Of course not. But it is nice to give them away.

[brmayes]

inspiring and thought-provoking

[apez3534]

the world would be a much better place if their were more people out there like Farmer, doing what they believe in and sacrificing anything to achieve their objective.

[EternallyRecurring]

Healthcare is NOT a human right. Human rights are not provided by the government, people are born with these rights. The government only denies or protects these rights, it doesn't provide them.

[johnkerry99999]

@EternallyRecurring Your right the government does not give but secure rights. Health Care and the right to be healthy and thus live should be protected. And our government should do this.

[EternallyRecurring]

You have the right to be healthy, as well as the right to be unhealthy. The only role government would have in healthcare is to protect against the spread of diseases to others, but the government isn't meant to protect people from themselves, as much as they do in this day and age. The biggest killers, cancer and heart disease are often the result of lifestyle choices. I don't believe others have the right to control my lifestyle or be responsible to pay for it.

[SORRYYOUREWRONGGUY]

@EternallyRecurring Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are the biggest killers of everyone else. Both are completely treatable. Your argument is incredibly flawed since no one "chooses" to have HIV/Aids through getting raped/being born with it.

[EternallyRecurring]

@SORRYYOUREWRONGGUY Show me the statistics of people in the US who get HIV from rape and from birth. If it's more than 1%, I'll be surprised.

[EternallyRecurring]

@SORRYYOUREWRONGGUY And you're wrong about HIV and TB being the leading killers. They're 4th and 7th on the list. #1 is Ischemic heart disease .

[hadenufnow]

Oblummacare is throwing good money after bad.. No Tort reform means docs have HI Malpractice INS.. No access to buy INS across state lines results in HI Premiuims as well. No access to generic meds is also expensive for premium payers.. 118 NEW IRS STYLE HI PAID CRONIE STRUCTURES toploaded..for you. Everybody WAITS till 2014 To suffer denied & detained access.. .START DATE=2014... START DATE to PAY = 2010.. What's wid dat??? IT IS A BAD INVESTMENT.. Written by chumps, for chumps...

[cecumnation]

what awesome examples Farmer & his colleagues are!

[fireamracing]

well i would go find what i need! i don't need a handout from anyone im self reliant! if those ppl wanted a better life they should burn their gov and make a better one that works for them! i may sound like a dick but free handouts should only be givn out till they get up on their feet and they can manage on their own then good luck to ya and some might think that cruel but thats how i was raised.

[fireamracing]

you cant blame other ppl for leting other ppl starve or drink dirty water! blame their gov seems like everyone wants the GOV to take of them go ask them for help and see what u get. its nature way of weeding out the weak and sick.

[lhdore]

@fireamracing that was a little incoherent there. you think the government of haiti should be blamed for the poverty there. then you decry the idea of government helping anybody. then you seem to be saying that anyone who starves to death or dies from an illness is just an act of nature, so if they can't get any food or health care themselves, t.s. so, one question for you: if you had become ill and had run out of food, you would want your neighbors to let you starve to death?

[yourharshinmymellow]

After reading Mountains Beyond Mountains I've made it my goal in life to become a doctor and to missionary just as Paul Farmer has..I can't understand why people can let other people go hungry,drink the dirty water,and still complain about petty things...Paul Farmer you have inspired me to achieve my goals in life and I look up to you so much

[MrMehoo]

Nice work

[hadenufnow]

THE current bill is not the answer ,,,does not address proper Tort Reform, "undocumented" access for expensive non-life threatening HC , & does not provide MOST IMPORTANTLY an OPT OUT Provision for those that believe it is still too bloated with waste & inefficiencies resulting in inflated premiums not in keeping with services provided.

....A mandate stuffed inside a trojan horse bill for HC is a skunk in the road...too stupid to debate...

REPEAL the BIll nobody ever wanted

[hadenufnow]

Health Care IS NOT A BIRTHRIGHT..!!!

Kill the bill..........

[hadenufnow]

Kill the Illegal HC TAX & JAIL Trojan Horse Mandate Bill nobody wants..

Kill the bill...

Vote out the freaks..

nobody wants it..

[AEB29]

Luckily we live in a world where there are millions of people that are willing to provide health care to others. So, even if some people have the view that "universal health care will enslave physicians," fortunately we live in a world where potentially we could have universal health care if we organized our resources responsibly.

[BallsInYourJawsBitch]

So you believe in slavery?

If health care is a right I can claim that a doctor is infringing on my rights by not taking care of me.

You're too God damned stupid to realize that you're saying that you believe that you have the right to a portion of another persons life!

Fucking liberals just don't get how truly backwards they are. They claim they're for freedom, but will prey like vultures on every last corpse of good in this country till there's nothing left.

[tido1691]

I think you are strongly misinterpreting his goal, or message. You are telling him what he is saying when he clearly doesn't mean what YOU are accusing him of saying. You clearly just have something against Liberals or Whatever it may be, but you are missing the point that he has helped many people and have saved many lives. He just means that when a person is in need of health care he or she should recieve it, thats all, and most of his income goes to helping those in poverty in haiti.

[pinkyface3]

We need to stand up to injustice and people who have their priorities completely messed up, like cdm 1972. To lose sight of helping people who are in need simply because they were born into poverty is the greatest human tragedy. Some have numbed themselves to sympathy and empathy for those in desperation. We cannot worry about politics when it effects lives. Thank you, Paul Farmer, for inspiring us to change our views and change our world.

[cdm1972]

What does "human right" even mean? Something we are entitled to because we exist? I believe you have a right to procure healthcare from another if you have the means to do so. If you do not, then certainly it could be given to you as a charity but not a right. I believe free healthcare to the poor is a charity we should support! However, I believe the individual should not be coerced into doing so via taxation, rationing, or other means. Support worthy charities.

[newyorkafterhours]

i agree

[ceb2008love]

I doubt that PIH cares as much as it is pretending to do. I once requested to do some volunteer work in Haiti for you but you never replied, I wrote to PIH a second time but you snubbed me. I am Haitian and I guess that I am not as worth as the Harvard grad students to my country. Oh , no, the American kids can help you ask for money on behalf of the Haitian people. I wonder what you friend Arisitde might be saying now.

[jdarthadamaja]

Thank you again Dr. Farmer and all of you who rail against injustice.

[browneyedblondie98]

Dr. Farmer - Thank you for inspiration. FACE AIDS UCLA stands/works in solidarity with you.