Thank fuck for the NHS

I read this article today and it makes me thank god that we in Britain have the NHS. You may snipe, bitch and criticise it for how slow everything is and how crap it is run, but without it, we would all be having to pay huge bills for simple things like: doctor appointments, dentist check ups, operations, birth control, STD tests, etc.

We are one of the lucky countries, where most of this is, or can be free. And we should free privileged to have such an infrastructure. One that also will help tourists and aliens within our borders, without prejudice.
No, it's not perfect and a lot of the time it's dealing with twindling finances and constance 'round the houses' to get new policies in place. But it is something that we all take for granted and don't appreciate enough.

Maybe if we lived in a society where to get an abortion (a simple, private procedure), you have to face ignorant people, who feel it's their right to tell you, you'll burn in hell for killing a baby, regardless of considering there might be other issues at stake. Or if we had to pay for all of our birth control, or every visit we made to the doctors just to get a sick note, maybe we would then start to appreciate it?

PS I recommend the article above, it's well written and interesting to have an "abortion provider" talk openly about there profession. Especially from within a country where abortion can be seen as a huge taboo.