Healthcare
Background While the right to life, happiness and the pursuit of liberty are enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, the concept of a ‘right to health’ has proven evocative and also divisive in the national discourse over the past three centuries. A mix of pragmatism, opportunism and pressure from special action groups has dogged the issue. A yellow fever epidemic in 1793 forced the American government to evacuate from Philadelphia. In response, George Washington came up with the first federal health law, proposing powers for the Executive to convene the government outside the capital in the event of ...
