Human Rights

  • Read more: 3 Human Rights Imperatives for Rationing Care in the Time of Coronavirus

    3 Human Rights Imperatives for Rationing Care in the Time of Coronavirus

    By Alicia Ely Yamin and Ole F. Norheim Scholarly and official statements and publications regarding human rights during the current pandemic have largely reiterated the important lessons learned from HIV/AIDS, Zika and Ebola, such as: engagement with affected communities; combatting stigma and discrimination; ensuring access for the most vulnerable; accounting for gendered effects; and limiting…

    corridor with hospital beds
  • Read more: Struggles for Human Rights in Health in an Age of Neoliberalism: From Civil Disobedience to Epistemic Disobedience

    Struggles for Human Rights in Health in an Age of Neoliberalism: From Civil Disobedience to Epistemic Disobedience

    This is the abstract of a paper by Alicia Ely Yamin. You can read the full paper in the Journal of Human Rights Practice here. By Alicia Ely Yamin Abstract Like other contributors to this special issue and beyond, I believe we are at a critical inflection point in human rights and need to re-energize our…

    Photo of a globe with a bandage tied around it
  • Read more: Elder abuse is not substantiated

    Elder abuse is not substantiated

    Philip C. Marshal is an elder justice advocate and founder of Beyond Brooke. The remarks below were prepared for Our Aging Brains: Decision-making, Fraud, and Undue Influence, part of the Project on Law and Applied Neuroscience at Harvard Law School; April 27, 2018. The complete version of Decision-making, fraud, and undue influence—illustrated through the lens…

  • Read more: The Right of the Child against Compulsory Religious Belonging

    The Right of the Child against Compulsory Religious Belonging

    The recent bill in Iceland that would make nonmedical infant circumcision for boys a crime reminds me once again how international human rights standards are still ambiguous with regard to balancing the right of the child with the right of the religious parent. The bill, already sponsored by at least a quarter of Iceland’s doctors…

  • Read more: Prenatal Testing and Human Capabilities

    Prenatal Testing and Human Capabilities

    By Aobo Dong According to Vardit Ravitsky’s paper on “Shifting Landscape of Prenatal Testing,” there exist two competing rationales for prenatal screenings for severe disabling conditions like Down syndrome. The “reproductive-autonomy” rationale justifies screening by invoking a woman’s individual autonomy. In contrast, the “public health rationale” justifies pre-natal screening and termination due to a Down…

  • Read more: Religion, Health, and Medicine: the Dialectic of Embedded Social Systems

    Religion, Health, and Medicine: the Dialectic of Embedded Social Systems

    The philosopher in me understands that there are universal principles in logic, mathematics, and in basic scientific tenets such as the law of gravity. Be that as it may, the historian in me recognizes that we inherit epistemologies and ways of thinking from those before us, and from our own historical and cultural contexts. Certain…