Abstract:

Health care inequality directly affecting the poor’s access to scarce resources demands a collective response from various sectors of society. This study seeks a framework for such a response using Catholic Christian and secular insights. The Catholic Christian framework of “preferential option for the poor” grounded in Sacred Scriptures and modern social teaching of the Church offers three expressions for reflection and action in relation to the moral problem: charity, distributive justice and participation in health care policy determination. Secular reflections of just distribution of limited health care goods have been influenced by theoretical frameworks such as utilitarianism, libertarianism, communitarianism and egalitarianism, each with differing emphases. The Catholic Christian and secular frameworks converge in endorsing the provision of a ‘decent minimum’ of health care which is an assurance that everyone, including the poor, can have access to basic health care services in the midst of scarcity. The issue under study gains a more concrete face through an assessment of practices by two health care facilities, one Catholic and one non-sectarian, using the framework of “preferential option for the poor”.

Final Defense:

Board of Examiners: Fr. ​Eric Marcelo Genilo, S.J.​, S.T.D.​ (Principal Examiner), Fr. ​Peter Pojol, S.J.​, S.T.D.​, and Fr. ​Romeo Intengan, S.J., ​M.D.​, S.T.L.​

Proposal Defense:

Board of Examiners: Fr. Peter Pojol, S.J., S.T.D. (Adviser), Fr. Eric Marcelo Genilo, S.J., S.T.D. and Fr. Romeo Intengan, S.J., M.D., S.T.L.