Group asks county for right
By: Matt Garofalo, Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: City
HILLSBOROUGH - The Orange County Board of Commissioners discussed a proposal Tuesday night that would affirm Orange County's view on health as a human right.
Sarah Chasnovitz, a third-year UNC law student participating in the Immigration-Human Rights Policy Clinic, presented a resolution calling for the board to recognize health as a fundamental human right and to take steps to ensure the highest level of mental and physical health for all residents.
The board referred the resolution to its staff.
The resolution was a joint project between the University's Immigration-Human Rights Policy Clinic and the National Health Law Program.
Deborah Weissman, law professor and director of clinical programs at the UNC School of Law, said the effort comes from a required course assignment that is part of the Immigration-Human Rights Policy Clinic, which she teaches.
Weissman said students in the class are assigned to work with organizations involved in framing social justice and international matters as human rights matters.
Chasnovitz and her classmates are working within these parameters to achieve their goal of promoting health care locally and nationally, Weissman said.
"We hope that the resolution will begin a dialog within Orange County about health care as a human right," she said.
Chasnovitz said she hopes the county will enforce its commitment to remedying disparities in prenatal care, breast cancer mortality for black women and lead poisoning in children.
Board Vice Chairman Barry Jacobs said the proposed resolution is consistent with the county's commitment to public health.
"We invest a lot of local money in our health department and we have a lot of things that we're doing that relate to peoples health," he said.
Chasnovitz said she believes the effects of these efforts will not be limited to only Orange County.
"Another practical effect of passing this resolution is to send a message … to our representatives in the House and Senate, and even our president," she said.
Sarah Chasnovitz, a third-year UNC law student participating in the Immigration-Human Rights Policy Clinic, presented a resolution calling for the board to recognize health as a fundamental human right and to take steps to ensure the highest level of mental and physical health for all residents.
The board referred the resolution to its staff.
The resolution was a joint project between the University's Immigration-Human Rights Policy Clinic and the National Health Law Program.
Deborah Weissman, law professor and director of clinical programs at the UNC School of Law, said the effort comes from a required course assignment that is part of the Immigration-Human Rights Policy Clinic, which she teaches.
Weissman said students in the class are assigned to work with organizations involved in framing social justice and international matters as human rights matters.
Chasnovitz and her classmates are working within these parameters to achieve their goal of promoting health care locally and nationally, Weissman said.
"We hope that the resolution will begin a dialog within Orange County about health care as a human right," she said.
Chasnovitz said she hopes the county will enforce its commitment to remedying disparities in prenatal care, breast cancer mortality for black women and lead poisoning in children.
Board Vice Chairman Barry Jacobs said the proposed resolution is consistent with the county's commitment to public health.
"We invest a lot of local money in our health department and we have a lot of things that we're doing that relate to peoples health," he said.
Chasnovitz said she believes the effects of these efforts will not be limited to only Orange County.
"Another practical effect of passing this resolution is to send a message … to our representatives in the House and Senate, and even our president," she said.
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