The right to health in the Américas: A comparative constitutional study

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this book is twofold first to contribute to a better understanding among lawmakers of the importance of a right to health; and second, to promote a greater awareness among health professionals of the role of law in health. The book has been structured to consist of three main chapters. Chapter 1 sets the conceptual stage. The chapter begins with an introduction to international human rights, focusing on the social and economic rights and particularly the right to health. An analysis of the role of the State follows. Chapter 2 consists of 29 national analyses, and represents the core of the work. In this chapter, national scholars analyze the constitution of their own countries. Each national analysis, to provide a useful comparison, is undertaken in a uniform format. This format includes critical background information on the nature and scope of the right to health, the concept of health, and the alternative views of State responsibility for health. Chapter 3, Summary and Analysis, describes the constitutional history and evolution of Hispanic América, Portuguese América, North América and the Caribbean including; legal traditions; forms and structures of government; principal characteristics of political constitutions; efficacy of constitutional norms; the concept of the right to health and a review of its international, constitutional, and legislative expressions