<![CDATA[Abstract The right to health is a fundamental right of citizens guaranteed within the national legal system, closely connected to the principle of the rule of law and to the constitutional goal of social welfare. In practice, however, the protection of the right to health continues to face considerable difficulty because of the dominance of a legalistic and formalistic approach to law, which produces a gap between legal norms and the actual reality of health service delivery. This article focuses on the concept and characteristics of Progressive Legal Theory, on the regulation and standing of the right to health within the national legal system, and on the relevance of Progressive Legal Theory as a normative and philosophical foundation for the protection of the right to health in Indonesia. The study employs a normative legal method combining the statute approach and the conceptual approach, drawing on primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials analysed qualitatively. The discussion shows that Progressive Legal Theory, first articulated by Satjipto Rahardjo as a critique of legal positivism, regards law as an instrument for achieving substantive justice and social welfare rather than a mere instrument of formal certainty. The right to health has been regulated constitutionally in the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and reinforced through various sectoral regulations, yet its implementation continues to face structural and bureaucratic obstacles. Progressive Legal Theory is relevant for bridging the gap between legal norms and social reality through a contextual, justice-oriented, and humanity-centred interpretation of law. The study concludes that Progressive Legal Theory is a suitable foundation for strengthening the protection of the right to health within the national legal system, provided its application is anchored in verifiable doctrine and disciplined by the constitutional text it seeks to serve.]]>
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