On duties to provide basic health and dental care to children

Children around the world suffer from poor health outcomes due to a lack of basic health and dental care, even in affluent countries. Yet duties exist to provide children these services when a society can afford to do so base d on the importance of promoting (a) social utility, (b) autonomy and equal ity of opportunity, (c) children's well-being or best interest due to their vulnerability, and (d) compassion, sympathy, empathy and solidarity. In ad dition, (e) these considerations show that, in general, if competent adults should have access to federal- or state-funded health care goods, services , or benefits, then so should children. This argument has limitations; none theless, it can help identify systematic biases against children in federal - or state-supported health care programs and gain children access to bette r basic health and dental care.