Sometimes people act based on emotions; I have heard people say prisoners should not be given health care at all. Perhaps those criminals have committed great offenses and so on. Here is the question: should prisoners be allowed to enjoy the same health care benefits as the non-prisoners, law-abiding citizens?
We should know that not all prisoners are bad people; some prisoners are in prison because of little things, and some are even lied about. Just because they are prisoners doesn't mean they are not human beings. Why are there prisons? It's basically for people to learn and not to take their human rights away. Everyone has gotten their human rights, so giving them the benefits of health care doesn't mean they are free.
Another thing to know is that some prisoners only got years in the prisoners. What will happen to them if they get sick? Are they to be left to die in the prisons just because they are prisoners? Another thing to also be scared of is diseases. Given good health care to the prisoners will definitely reduce diseases among the prisoners and even the officers in charge of the prisoners. This means not just the prisoners alone will benefit from this; even the people guiding them might contract diseases if care is not taken. What is taken away is their freedom.
Public safety is also very important: if you have visited a prison before, you will know that it is always overcrowded, and they do not get enough of whatever they need. I have heard of a prison with more than fifty people inside. This will not only be a good thing to them but also a bad thing; a toilet where two more people used regular and not proper cleaning will definitely be contaminated with a lot of diseases and infections. Now imagine a prison where there is a mentally ill person, and no medical attention is given to the person; it will only destroy other
people there, and no good will happen in the prisons.
Anything can be used for punishment, but using a medical as a punishment is even against the rules of the country. Just because someone is a prisoner does not make them totally bad or wish them death. They should also be given the same care that is given to law-abiding citizens.
The real argument is tax payment, which can be so understandable, knowing you are paying taxes for medical and how stressful and struggling you are working before you can even afford to pay the taxes, and prisoners will use this same health care and will not pay for it. Thinking about what some prisoners have done will definitely make you say they shouldn't be given any health.
In conclusion, I believe prisoners should receive medical health care, just like the law-abiding citizens, just because someone commits a crime or even kills, robs, or loses more like that doesn't mean they do not have rights to human rights. However, we are not saying they should be given luxury health care by living in the prisons of another country or any kind of luxury. But given proper medical care is very important.
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