Gideon v. Wainwright and Universal Healthcare.

In 1963’s Gideon v. Wainwright the SCOTUS engaged in the dreaded “Judicial Activism” by overruling its precedent in Betts v. Brady. Thus, it showed that “Judicial Activism” can be a good thing. By extending the Sixth Amendment right to counsel to the States these Judicial Activists guaranteed all indigent defendants the right to counsel during a felony proceeding. The SCOTUS created a new “Right” for all Americans and made our Country fairer and more egalitarian.

So, maybe what we need now is a new “Right” for Americans: Universal Healthcare. I am not suggesting that we need a Gideon for Healthcare, it would take too long to work its way through the courts. But I do think that we need “Congressional Activism” to extend a new “Right” to us. You know “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Life would seem a paramount “Right.” Extending Universal Healthcare to all Americans as a “Right” would also make our Country fairer and more egalitarian, just like Gideon v. Wainwright did.

Don’t you think?