Pubdate: Wed, 12 Oct 2011
Source: Cloverdale Reporter (CN BC)
Copyright: 2011 Cloverdale Reporter News
Contact:  http://www.cloverdalereporter.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3407
Author: Tracy Wu

INSITE DECISION IS HYPOCRITICAL

To the editor:

According to the Supreme Court ruling, drug addicts now have 
constitutional rights to free medical treatment via drug treatment 
centres like Insite. Vancouver's Insite is funded by both the B.C. 
Ministry of Health ($1.2 million per year) and Health Canada ($0.5 
million per year).

The clinic provides free needles and free medical care to those 
addicted to drugs. The argument used by all nine Supreme Court judges 
was that closing the clinic would violate drug users' constitutional 
rights and "potential denial of health services and the correlative 
increase risk of death and disease".

Using the same logic, shouldn't people who have chronic illnesses, 
such as people with Type 1 diabetes, be given the same constitutional 
right to free life-sustaining medical supplies (i.e. insulin pumps 
and continuous glucose monitoring systems which have been proven the 
best possible treatment for people with Type 1 diabetes)?

Why are drug addicts getting free treatment for their "illness" while 
those with chronic diseases are not?

Tracy Wu

Surrey
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart