Health (Right to)

The petition in this public interest litigation (PIL) case cited data from the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra, regarding government practices regarding female sterilization, which lacked counseling or informed consent, lacked pre- and post-operative care, and included unhygienic and un-anesthetized operating conditions, sterilization of minors, coercion and cruelty.  The PIL requested the Court to direct the state governments to comply with the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Guidelines on Standards of Female Sterilization, enacted in October 1999 (“the Guidelines”).

Mark Keenan received intermittent psychiatric treatment since the age of 21. At 28, Keenan was admitted to prison, initially to the prison health center. Several attempts were made to transfer him to the general population, but his mental health worsened each time. Following a transfer attempt, he assaulted two guards and his sentence was increased by twenty-eight days. The next day Keenan hung himself.

Three Kenyan citizens using generic anti-retroviral medications and living with HIV or AIDS challenged the constitutionality of Kenya’s Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008.  The petitioners argued that Section 2 of the Act confused generic drugs with counterfeit medicine and if implemented, the Act would inflict civil and criminal penalties on generic medicine manufacturers and severely restrict access to affordable medicine in Kenya.

Disability Advocates, Inc. (DAI) brought a suit before the U.S. District Court (NY) asserting that New York State discriminated against individuals with disabilities in violation of the ADA’s integration mandate, which requires that individuals with mental illness residing in adult care facilities in New York receive services in the most integrated setting possible in order to increase interaction with the broader community.