THE RIGHT TO HEALTH CARE FOR UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS, WITH A CONSIDERATION OF THE IMPACT
The purpose of this research is two faceted. First, the purpose of this research is to explore the issue of the provision of free or subsidized access to health care services for undocumented aliens residing in the United States. Second, the purpose of this research is consider the provision of free or subsidized access to health care services for undocumented aliens residing in the United States within the context of the potential impact of this issue on the practice of midwifery in the United States.
With respect to access to health care services by undocumented aliens within the United States, the issue does not center on the denial of such access on the basis that an individual is an undocumented alien, but rather on the denial of free or subsidized access to health care services for undocumented aliens (Nickel, 1986, pp. 19 23). Moralists within American society contend that anyone in the country requiring health care services should have access to such services, regardless of whether such an individual can pay for the required services, and regardless of whether such an individual is in the United States under legal circumstances (Blankenau, 1993, pp. 36 39). Opponents of free health care access for undocumented aliens contend that government, both federal and state, in the United States cannot afford to fund free health care services for
undocumented aliens (Chavez, 1984, pp. 20 24). The research presented in this study considers both sides of the argument, together with the implications of the counter arguments.
This issue is relevant to nursing and to the nation's health care delivery system for a number of interrelated reasons. First, the number of undocumented aliens residing in the United States continues to grow (Berger, 1992, p. B3). The need for health care services among the undocumented alien component of the Ameri...