Lesson
Modern Debates on Rights
Guiding question
What are rights?
Guiding Questions
- What are rights?
- Where do rights originate?
- Are rights limited?
- What should happen when rights of some persons contradict the rights of others?
- Should governments exercise powers to secure or equalize rights?
- Does the Bill of Rights complement or contradict the Declaration of Independence?
Objectives
- Students will describe what natural rights are and provide examples.
- Students will analyze different viewpoints of the origins of rights.
- Students will examine current events that reflect a conflict of the role of government in comparison to one’s understanding of the origins of rights.
Materials
Educator Resources
Student Handouts
Lesson Components
Decades later, both the purpose and the consequences of the Great Society are disputed. More fundamental is the question of the nature of rights themselves. Do they come from God and/or nature, or do they come from government? Or some mixture? The controversy over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a current example. The ACA requires that companies provide insurance that covers birth control - including drugs that prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg, which some consider to be abortion - and sterilization. Catholics and some Protestants see these practices as wrong and contrary to the word of God. Conservatives also think it is against what is best in human nature that individuals be promised entitlements.
Lesson plan
Key Terms
- natural rights
- equality
- Declaration of Independence
- liberty
- Founders
Standards
Related materials
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