Global Pandemics: Considerations of Public Health, Human Rights, and Bioethics
Global Pandemics: Considerations of Public Health, Human Rights, and Bioethics

Summary/Abstract: Pandemics threaten the health and lives of peoples worldwide, sometimes requiringthe imposition of numerous, restrictive public health measures to diminish their impact andpreserve health and life. Such measures, however well-intended, have the potential tocontravene human rights and raise significant ethical questions at the individual, community,national, and international levels. This article explores the impact of public health measuresadopted in an effort to ameliorate the transmission of COVID-19 on access to care, the rightto privacy, protection of marginalized communities from discrimination, and violence againstwomen. The discussion of bioethical concerns focuses on resource allocation, the presumedobligation of healthcare workers to provide care, and governmental obligations in the face ofa pandemic. The discussion concludes with a review of lessons learned: the need for acoordinated response across levels of government and the private sector, attention to existingstructural inequalities that may exacerbate the impact of the pandemic and/or the publichealth measures adopted to contain the pandemic, the protection of vulnerable andmarginalized persons, a clear delineation of and support for workers deemed to be essential,and the provision of relevant training to law enforcement personnel.

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