Demand for ‘right to healthcare’ law revived in Rajasthan

• The demand for the enactment of a legislation on the right to healthcare has been revived in Rajasthan.
• The law would streamline medical services and guarantee the availability of essential facilities to citizens.

Significance of the move :

• The people are entitled to the right to health and it puts a compulsion for the government to take steps toward this.
• Enables everyone to access the services and ensures that the quality of those services is good enough to improve the health of the people who receive them.
• Protects people from the financial consequences of paying for health services out of their own pockets and reduces the risk of people getting pushed into poverty.

Obligations of Government:

Constitutional:

• Fundamental Rights: Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees a fundamental right to life & personal liberty. The right to health is inherent to a life with dignity.
• Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP): Articles 38, 39, 42, 43, & 47 put the obligation on the state in order to ensure the effective realization of the right to health.

International Commitments:

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights: India is a signatory of the Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) by the United Nations.
• It grants the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of humans including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services.