Category: Palliative Care

How is palliative care a human rights issue? What is palliative care? “Palliative care is an approach that seeks to improve the quality of life of patients diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses through prevention and relief of suffering.”1 It also addresses the psychosocial, legal, and spiritual aspects associated with life-threatening illnesses.2 Palliative care is fundamental to health and human dignity and is a basic human right.3 The United Nations Committee on Economic,…

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Table A: International Human Rights Instruments and Protected Rights and Fundamental Freedoms UDHR ICCPR ICESCR CEDAW ICERD CRC Torture or Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment* Art. 5 Art. 7 Art. 37(a) Life Art. 3 Art. 6.1 Art. 6.1 Health Art. 25 Art. 12 Art. 12 Art. 5(e)(iv) Art. 24 Expression and Information Art. 19 Art. 19(2) Art. 13, Art. 17 Non-discrimination and Equality Art. 1, Art. 2 Art. 2(1), Art.…

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Table 1: Palliative Care and Freedom from Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment Examples of Human Rights Violations National laws restricting opioid availability and access cause cancer and AIDS patients to suffer unnecessary pain.• Fearing prosecution by the state, a doctor refuses to prescribe morphine to relieve a patient’s pain. A country’s laws prohibit the prescription of morphine to former drug users. A former drug user is in the…

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Table 2: Palliative Care and the Right to Life Examples of Human Rights Violations Unable to obtain pain medication, an AIDS patient is unable to adhere to required treatment and continue taking antiretrovirals. As a result, the patient does not have much time to live. Human Rights Standards Treaty Body Interpretation ICCPR 6(1): Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No…

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Table 3: Palliative Care and the Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health Examples of Human Rights Violations A country does not provide for training in palliative care to its medical personnel. As a result, end-of-life patients do not receive adequate pain relief and physical, psychosocial, and spiritual care. A State provides funding only for hospitals and not for hospices and home-based care facilities. As a result, patients must…

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Table 4: Palliative Care and the Right to Information Examples of Human Rights Violations • People are denied information about: hospice and palliative care services; pain management; and their diagnosis and prognosis. Human Rights Standards Treaty Body Interpretation ICESCR 12(1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. CESCR General Comment 14: Health…

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Table 5: Palliative Care and the Right to Non-discrimination and Equality A country decides that it is not worth investing precious resources in providing care for the elderly. Former drug users are denied access to opioid-based pain medication. A state provides only limited health services to non-citizens and refugees, denying them access to palliative care. Human Rights Standards Treaty Body Interpretation ICESCR 2(2) The States Parties to the present Covenant…

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Example 1: Litigation to Ensure Access to Morphine in India Project Type Litigation: Public Litigation Case (No. 942/98) in the Delhi High Court (Dr. R.B. Ghooi). The Organization This is an example of public interest litigation on behalf of cancer patients without access to morphine for palliative care. In 1998, a private citizen, Dr. Ravindra Ghooi, filed a lawsuit on behalf of cancer patients in India. He requested that the…

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Example 2: Petitioning the State Human Rights Commission for Access to Palliative Care in India  Project Type: Advocacy The Organizations   Pain and Palliative Care Society Medical College, Calicut, Kerala, India Web:  www.painandpalliativecare.org  Institute of Palliative Medicine Calicut Medical College, Calicut, Kerala, India Web:  www.instituteofpalliativemedicine.org                                                          …

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Example 3: Regulatory Reform in Romania  Project Type: Regulatory Reform The Organizations  Hospice Care Sperantei Brasov, Romania Email: hospice@hospice.ro Website:  http://www.hospice.ro Website English:  http://www.hospice.ro/en/ University of Wisconsin, Pain and Policies Study Group Madison, Wisconsin, USA Website: www.painpolicy.wisc.edu A team of health care workers in Romania worked with the Pain & Policy Studies Group at the University of Wisconsin to convince Romania’s regulators that a change in that country’s opioid control policy…

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