Is Justice Blind?

There is a growing disparity
in America between those
who receive health care, and
those who do not. Nowhere is
this disparity more apparent
than here in Champaign, Illinois.
There is a young lady
here in Champaign, 21 years of age, who is
legally blind, suffers from a brain tumor, and
has a slipped disk in her lower back.
Her health conditions are fully documented,
so there is no question about the reality of
her ailments. With such documentation, one
would think that she would have no problem
with receiving medical assistance.Wrong! Not
only has she been refused medical help from
the many doctors here in Champaign, she has
been denied public assistance, and has been
refused help from the office of Social Security.
Although this young woman is legally
blind, she has three percent better vision in her
right eye than in her left eye, and this is above
the minimum to receive anymedical assistance.
The real reason she has been denied medical
assistance is because she is poor. She is
certainly not the only person to suffer from a
health care system that condemns one to death
for being poor, and offers a better quality of
life to those who are more affluent. In Champaign,
to be poor and ill is punishable by
DEATH!
Earl Robinson, First Citizen, works around
issues of health care and economic justice. He
is a student at Parkland College in criminal
justice.