Universal Human Rights and End-of-Life Care

Abstract

Universal human rights like dignity, physical integrity, health, and freedom from torture or inhuman treatment have special relevance to the end-of-life debate and form the basis on which is built the emergence of new biorights. Over the last decades, such rights as the right to informed consent, the right to die with dignity, and the right not to suffer have gained increasing importance in the international legal order. These rights have also contributed to the setting of generally accepted human rights standards that offer authoritative guidance to both domestic legislators and judges. This is particularly important in light of the fact that the regulation of legal questions surrounding the end of life is quite different in domestic jurisdictions, even in a rather homogeneous and integrated region like Europe, where the relevant legal frameworks still differ according to cultural, ideological, and religious diversities and the more or less liberal attitude adopted by individual States, as it is the case with Germany and Italy. Moving from the above considerations, this chapter will discuss some critical aspects of end-of-life decision-making and care within the international human rights framework, with a view to disclosing the relevant legal standards and obligations that may serve as general reference and starting points for a comparison between national jurisdictions. This investigation could also open up the door to a more specific debate on the consistency of domestic legislation on end-of-life issues with international (biomedical and human rights) law.