PFAM coordinator Fran Quigley was interviewed by poet and editor Katy Giebenhain for the United Lutheran Seminary podcast, "The Seminary Explores."
In the language of our faith and moral traditions, there is no shortage of commitment to social justice.
All major religious traditions set out a clear mandate to provide for the needs of the poor and sick, and to go beyond mere charity to also work for justice and the fulfillment of human rights. Old Testament prophets and Jesus Christ spoke in terms of justice. The Quran invokes justice, and Confucian principles embrace a community-wide obligation to provide for the needs of all.
More importantly, people of faith have often embraced those calls to action, and in so doing helped make the world a better place. When it comes to reversing the dismal state of access to essential medicines, there is every reason to believe we can do so again...
When it comes to our medicines system, it is hard to overstate how profoundly broken it is.
Here in the U.S., many of our neighbors, especially seniors, are forced to choose between paying for medicine or food. Hundreds of cancer physicians recently wrote an angry public letter protesting the fact that one in five of their patients can't afford to fill their prescriptions—not surprising, with the cost of cancer medicines now averaging over $100,000.