Right to Health

In order to understand exactly the content of the right to health we

need therefore to make an accurate act of mapping that involves all

these aspects.

First, the right to health is a human right. It is established

by Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights3

which states that ‘[e]veryone has the right to a standard of living

adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family,

including . . . medical care’.4 Then, in more precise terms, the

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights5

recognizes the right to health in Article 126 ensuring ‘the enjoyment

of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health’ to

everyone. In this regard the right to health covers both health as an

individual right and health as a policy which governments have to

implement in order to enhance health conditions of the population.

The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights7

recalls health as a privileged field of public policy (Art. 14).8 But

what are the boundaries of the right to health in Europe?