Minimun Decency as Ordinary and Proportionate Healthcare Provision: A Christian Response to Ruiping Fan

Abstract

The endorsement of the first part of Article 14 by Confucianism in that governments should promote health and social developments of its people would find resonance in Catholic social teachings which promotes the exercise of authority as a service. The centrality of the family in society is similarly emphasized by both religions. The right to health may imply a radical egalitarian approach rejected by Confucianism. This is echoed in the Catholic teaching of ordinary versus extraordinary means of therapy. The Catholic vision of equality in the dignity of human persons incorporates a need for service of love (caritas), which expresses itself as love of neighbor. Although Confucianism does not directly address the matter of human solidarity, the codification of obligations between different members of society maintains a structure for maintaining such solidarity. Finally an exploration of ordinary and proportionate means of therapy in the context of current scientific and technological advances may help to set an appropriate minimal decent standard of healthcare.