GLOBAL PANDEMICS: CONSIDERATIONS OF PUBLIC HEALTH, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND BIOETHICS

Abstract

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