| The future of healthcare for undocumented immigrants (UIs) in the United States is bleak. Almost completely left out of healthcare reform, UIs are likely to comprise an increasingly greater portion of the U.S. uninsured population, with only limited options to meet their healthcare needs. Now more than ever, it is important to consider whether or not our exclusion of UIs from our healthcare system is justified, or whether we have an obligation to reevaluate our stance. In this thesis, I consider the most important arguments for and against providing healthcare for UIs. Chapter 1 is a brief overview of UI demographics, both general characteristics of this population and healthcare-related characteristics. My next two chapters are overviews of the leading arguments for and against providing UIs with healthcare. Chapter 2 considers arguments against providing UIs with healthcare. I present an overview of each argument, then the main reasons one might support the argument, and lastly some responses a critic might levy against the argument. Chapter 3 follows the same structure, but is dedicated to arguments for providing UIs with healthcare. In Chapter 4, I put forward what I believe to be the most tenable position regarding UI healthcare. I argue that justice requires that society should strive to provide fair equality of opportunity for all of its members. Because health and opportunity are intimately linked, society's commitment to fair equality of opportunity requires that it also promote the health of its members by providing healthcare. Lastly, I argue that society's duty to provide healthcare to its members should be extended to UIs. |
