Human Rights and Public Health in the AIDS Pandemic [Hardcover]

Lawrence O. Gostin (Author), Zita Lazzarini (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195114426 | ISBN-13: 978-0195114423 | Publication Date: April 10, 1997 | Edition: 1

A penetrating analysis of the close relationship between public health and human rights, this book makes a compelling case for synergy between the two fields. Using the AIDS pandemic as a lens, the authors demonstrate that health is closely related to human dignity and individual rights--human rights cannot be deemed adequate and comprehensive without ensuring the health of individuals. In the course of their analysis, Gostin and Lazzarini tackle some of the most vexing issues of our time, including the universality of human rights and the counter-claims of cultural relativity. Taking a cue from environmental impact assessment, they propose a human rights impact assessment for examining health policies--a tool that will be invaluable for evaluating real-world public health problems.
This volume examines issues--HIV testing, screening, partner notification, isolation, quarantine, and criminalization of persons with HIV/AIDS--within the framework of international human rights law. The authors evaluate the public health implications of a wide range of AIDS policies in developed as well as developing countries. The role of women in society receives special emphasis. Finally, the book presents three case histories significant in the HIV/AIDS pandemic and analyzes them from a human rights perspective. The cases include discrimination and the transmission of HIV and tuberculosis in an occupational health care setting; breast feeding in the least developed countries; and confidentiality and the right of sexual partners to know of potential exposure to HIV. Gostin and Lazzarini have written a book that will be a valuable addition to the libraries of public health practitioners, legal scholars, bioethicists, policy makers, and public rights activists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" ... a comprehensive book ... justifies a place on the bookshelves of practitioners of public and other health disciplines." CMA Journal (June 1998)

"This is a book that should be required reading by all of those in the policy making arena of the government....A highly recommended book for all academic libraries."--AIDS Book Review Journal

"Human Rights and Public Health in the AIDS pandemic, by Lawrence Gostin and Zita Lazzarini, is a carefully written, comprehensive guide to many of the ethical and philosophical issues generated by the tension between these two realms. It will be a valuable guide for people working in the field and for those seeking to acquaint themselves with the major themes."--Journal of the American Medical Association

"The authors, both of whom are leading public health law scholars, set forth a lucid and succinct account of human rights law in the context of the AIDS pandemic."--Legal Information ALERT

"The thesis of the book is well researched and thoroughly referenced and documented. Its bibliography is notable for its comprehensive compilation of documents, books, and articles.... The author's use of case studies to apply the human rights impact assessment model they propose is an interesting method of bringing theory into practice"--Doody's Health Sciences Review Journal

"Human Rights and Public Health in the AIDS Pandemic provides a grealty needed background work in this field.... The book lays the foundation for considering human rights in relation to all public health policies and comes at a particularly important time....Human Rights and Public Health in the AIDS Pandemic is a welcome, comprehensive argument for human rights as an integral part of public health and should be a benchmark reference for public health policy makers."--Journal of the American Medical Women's Association

"Larry Gostin and Zita Lazzarini, scholars who have been at the forefront of identifying the legal, ethical and human rights aspects of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic, consider a method by which to evaluate and understand the sensitive interrelationship between public health intervention and human rights. The book is also the first comprehensive compilation of HIV/AIDS and human rights sources and further documents the close connection between health promotion and human rights....Gostin and Lazzarini have nonetheless provided a valuable guide for policymakers in developing public health and human rights initiatives and increased awareness of the human rights impact on public health. The book serves as an excellent teaching device, chronicling diverse legal and public health issues made evident by the HIV/AIDS pandemic experience."--The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs

"Professor Lawrence Gostin...and his co-author Zita Lazzarini...have in this unique volume synthesized all of the information available on the pandemic of AIDS and have eloquently argued that the advocates for the victims of AIDS need to forge new links between human rights and the communities that are involved in HIV/AIDS....For observers who feel overwhelmed at the pandemic of AIDS and for students of international human rights, this carefully crafted study will be indispensable. Indeed it may become a prophetic voice linking the promises and guarantees of international human rights to the growing number of persons afflicted with one of the deadliest diseases in the of the human race."--Human Rights Quarterly

"The language used to introduce the reader to the international legal issues that underscore the book is precise without being too scholarly. That percision and the authors' economy of style help the reader comprehend the nuances of the evolving body of law on the complex dimensions of international human rights. The same topic visited by other authors might have easily missed its mark. The authors also give us something more-a seven-step matrix which can be used to evaluate public policies and programs to diminish conflicts that often arise between individual rights and the public good....Larry Gostin and Zita Lazzarini have given us a remarkable gift with Human Rights and Public Health in the AIDS Pandemic."--Journal of the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care

"The authors tackle the challenge of presenting human rights law to public health practitioners, and public health issues to lawyers. The result is a comprehensive book that uses mutual concerns about AIDS to link human rights practitioners with public health practitioners by the discussion of case studies comprehensive to both....It justifies a place on the bookshelves of practitioners of public and other health disciplines."--Canadian Medical Association Journal

Noted in The Lancet

About the Author

Lawrence O. Gostin, J.D., LL.D. (Hon.), is Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, Adjunct Professor of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, and Co-Director of the Georgetown-Johns Hopkins Program on Law and Public Health.
Zita Lazzarini, J.D., M.P.H., is a public health lawyer and Lecturer on AIDS, law, and human rights at Harvard Law School, Harvard School of Public Health, and Tufts University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (April 10, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195114426
• ISBN-13: 978-0195114423
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,298,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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