Health Care is a Human Right Rally

Subtitle: 
Help NESRI Spread the Word!
Start Date: 
Friday, May 1, 2009 - 00:00
End Date: 
Friday, May 1, 2009 - 00:00
URL: 
Organizer: 
Location: 

Statehouse, Montpelier, VT

Contact: 

Health Care is a Human Right Rally

A record number of Vermonters are expected to march for their human right to health care at a historic rally organized by the Vermont Workers' Center on Friday, May 1. The rally is anticipated to draw national attention as one of the largest protests in the country in support of the human right to health care. 

Help NESRI Spread the Word!!!

At a time when Congressional leaders continue to treat care as a commodity, NESRI seeks to ensure that Vermont's call for the human right to health care is heard far and wide.


What:   The rally is part of the Vermont Workers' Center's "Healthcare is a Human Right" campaign, which demands a health care system based on the principles of universality, equity and accountability. This would guarantee that everyone can get the health care they need, when and where they need it. By evoking these human rights principles, the campaign is building a large grassroots movement that seeks to change what is considered politically possible.

When:  12 noon - 2pm, Friday, May 1st

Where:  Statehouse, Montpelier, VT

Who:  The Vermont Workers' Center and Vermonters who are committed to fighting for their human right to health care (a survey by the Workers' Center has shown that over 95% of Vermonters believe that health care is a human right).  The rally has been endorsed by over 100 national and state-based organizations and 25 faith leaders. Small business owners and workers may close shop or call in sick to take part in the weekday rally.

Why:  NESRI board member Paul Farmer, a founding director of Partners in Health, stresses that "The ongoing struggle for the right to health care has always needed champions. Remember Martin Luther King's Poor People's Movement? Remember the march on Washington? The Vermont Workers' Center is a vital member of this movement for health, working to ensure that all people get the health care they need regardless of their ability to pay. Some things are not meant to be commodities - they are meant to be rights."

  What you can do to take action?
- Take part in the rally! Tips for transport can be found here
- Send an email to your newspaper and urge them report on this event.  Forward them the national press release
- Blog about this event.
- Forward this email to friends.


For more info: 
Visit the NESRI Human Right to Health Program webpage where you can view a video announcement from the Vermont Workers' Center and read recent pre-rally press coverage.
Visit the Vermont Workers' Center website.
Stay tuned for upcoming NESRI coverage of the rally.


About NESRI

NESRI promotes human rights in the United States to advance the principle that meeting fundamental human needs, such as health care, housing, food, education and work with dignity, gives rise to human rights obligations on the part of government and the private sector.

Because we believe that social movements are the foundation for creating a culture that protects these economic and social rights, we work in partnership with affected communities to build local projects and national coalitions that advocate for universal, equitable, comprehensive and sustainable public policies.


Visit NESRI online at our Website, Photostream, Podcast and Blog.