Rights for all days

By Thatyana Ernani (Brazil). Translations: Portuguese, Spanish. 

Today, when I thought of writing about human rights, what came first to my mind was to say how they’re present in my everyday life. As a student from a PBL course, I have more freedom to discuss and question what I want with my friends in the case studies that we receive.

Now, at the end of the year, there’s been a lot of discussions on human rights and health. In a case study, we were led to verify if there was any law in Brazil to protect juvenile workers. We read the Children and Adolescent Statute, and saw which are the special laws and rights they have.

In other case, a more polemic one, we studied ethical and legal questions concerning abortion. In Brazil, legal abortion occurs in two situations: 1) when the pregnant’s life is in risk, and 2) when the pregnant has been raped. A question then popped up: according to our Medical Code of Ethics, a doctor can’t be forced to make a procedure he doesn’t agree with. On the other hand, our Constitution specifies that a doctor cannot deny treatment to a patient. What happens now? Which document has more importance?

Another question that followed was what is life. If everyone has the right to life, then starting from what point, or at what age, this counts? And the day-after pills, since they avoid the formation of life, does their use go against human rights? From whom, if not even an embryo has been formed?

My colleagues and I have faced many questions like these. This is why I can’t agree when someone says only people from the social areas should care about human rights and laws. IT’S NOT LIKE THIS! We all have the duty to know and to demand human rights – not only ours, but also for others. They’re there to protect us! As medical students, this is one more powerful instrument we can use to help improve life and health quality.

This is also why human rights education is so important. Start by yourself. Do you know the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? NO?! So run after what’s right – get informed.