Man brought appeal for legal protection against the Superintendence for the Welfare of Federal Police of Argentina (Superintendencia de Bienestar de la Policía Federal Argentina), requesting that the court order the Superintendence to continue to provide the economic assistance needed to cover overseas treatment for his daughter, who suffered from spinal muscular atrophy (Werdning-Hoffman disease). …Read more

The Petitioner brought action against Obra Social de Empleados de Comercio y Actividades Civiles (Osecac) for discrimination and violations of his rights to life and health. The Petitioner had received health insurance coverage from Osecac through his employer for seven years. Following termination of his job, the Petitioner sought to continue coverage with Osecac. However, …Read more

Petitioner, a man seeking treatment for infertility, alleges on behalf of others seeking treatment that the Government of Costa Rica’s prohibition on access to in vitro fertilization, one of the treatments available, constitutes violations of Articles 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 11(2), 17, 24, 25, 26 and 32 of the American Convention on Human Rights, …Read more

Petitioner, Televisión Azteca S.A, filed a Writ of Amparo challenging the constitutionality of article 308, section VI of the Public Health Law (broadcasting tobacco advertisements), alleging that it violated the right to work. The section under scrutiny regulates alcoholic beverages and tobacco advertisements prohibiting the real or apparent ingestion or consumption of these products. In …Read more

Nine inmates died from a fire at juvenile detention center “Colonel Panchito López” Juvenile Reeducation Institute (Center), one inmate died from a bullet wound sustained at the Center, and 37 inmates sustained injuries and smoke inhalation from three fires at the Center. The Center was under the authority of the Ministry of Justice and Labor …Read more

The petitioner filed a writ of amparo (appeal for legal protection) against the Ministry of Health of Peru. She sought free administration of comprehensive medical treatment for HIV, including both the continuous delivery of necessary medicines and the performance of periodic CD4 cell count and viral load tests upon medical indication and/or the patient’s urgent …Read more

Physician María Teresa De La Cruz Flores was detained on March 27, 1996, and charged with terrorism for providing medical services to members of Sendero Luminoso, a guerrilla group in Peru. She was prosecuted before a secret (“faceless”) judge and sentenced on November 21, 1996, to 20 years in prison under a provision that seven …Read more

An unmarried woman was working as a teacher in a Christian school when she became pregnant. She informed the school authorities with the aim of reaching an agreement regarding the terms of the maternity leave. Instead, the school dismissed her for failing “to live according to Jesus’ teachings on marriage and sex.” The woman subsequently …Read more

Parents of daughter with disabilities brought action for legal protection against the Armed Forces of Argentina, as a State organ, for failing to ensure comprehensive coverage of the needed treatment for their daughter.  The appeals court reversed the trial court’s decision that granted Petitioners legal protection.  The appeals court found that a) Petitioners did not …Read more

Mrs. Torres Puerta (the “Patient”) was affiliated with E.P.S. Coomeva, a Health Providing Entity. (Note: in Colombia, Health Providing Entities are in charge of providing healthcare services to employees, who must subscribe to one of such entities and pay a monthly fee which their employer deducts from their salary). In 2002, The Patient received authorization …Read more

Mr. Rodrigo Alberto Valencia Echeverri brought a Constitutional Action against Cafesalud EPS (“EPS”), a Health Promoting Entity, arguing that his fundamental rights to health and social security had been violated. The plaintiff affirmed that EPS would not administer a medicine called “gadolinium contrast dye”, which was required to conduct a “brain magnetic resonance” exam. This …Read more

O.M. is a Mexican woman who left her newborn son in a garbage can in the municipal headquarters of Santa Clara del Cobre after having given labor in the public restrooms. The woman placed toilet paper on the newborn child’s mouth cavity and nostrils to prevent others from hearing the newborn child cry, cut his …Read more

A university student- Mr. Wignall alleged he was a victim of discrimination based on his disability (deafness) when the Department of National Revenue included a portion of the student’s federal grant in the student’s taxable income for the year. A student who suffered from a condition of deafness was required to learn sign language interpretation, …Read more

Petitioner, Sell, had a long history of mental illness. In 1998, a federal grand jury issued an indictment charging Sell with attempting to murder an FBI agent who had arrested him in connection with a separate charge of mail fraud and a former employee who planned to testify against him in the upcoming fraud case. …Read more

A group of NGOs lodged a petition with the Commission alleging that Peru violated Maria Mamérita Mestanza Chávez’s rights on account of a forced sterilization that resulted in her death. Peru implemented a family planning policy involving compulsory and systematic sterilization in order to modify the reproductive behavior of the population. Poor, indigenous, and rural …Read more

Plaintiff filed suit alleging that Defendants deprived him of HIV medication on two occasions during his incarceration at the Camp Pharsalia Correctional Facility. The first deprivation occurred in October 1998 and lasted seven days, resulting from a delay in refilling Plaintiff’s prescriptions. The second occurred in January 1999, when Plaintiff’s medication was confiscated during a …Read more

The Appellant, Ophelia Azriel De’lonta (born Michael A. Stokes), a Virginia inmate suffering from gender identity disorder (GID) (also known as gender dysphoria or transsexualism), brought suit against the Respondents, the Director of and doctors at the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC), alleging that they inflicted cruel and unusual punishment on her, in violation of …Read more

The Appellant, Doe, brought an action against his employer, the U.S. Postal Service, for the Postal Service’s disclosure of his HIV status in violation of both the Privacy Act and the Rehabilitation Act. Doe’s status was first revealed to Postal Service officials as part of a request for leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave …Read more

Police officers entered a private residence in response to a report of a disturbance and came upon two men engaged in a sexual act. The men were arrested for and charged with violating a Texas state criminal law that prohibited “deviate sexual intercourse [defined as oral or anal sex] with another individual of the same sex.” …Read more

The applicant ombudsman, representing N.N., brought an action against the President and General Auditor of the Supreme Court of Military Justice, and against the General Manager and Manager of Health of Military Social Security Corporation (COSSMIL). The applicant alleged that by denying N.N. a right to medical treatment, his right to health, life and social …Read more

After being violently captured during an attempted escape from prison, Carlos Orlando and Rubén Suárez Saavedra, the sons of the plaintiff, were in need of medical treatment. Carlos Orlando was suffering from appendicitis, an inflamed gallbladder, and a broken rib while Rubén had AIDS and was experiencing pulmonary tuberculosis, immunodeficiency, symptoms of depression, and a …Read more

The 939/00 Obligatory Medical Program provided medication to persons suffering from multiple sclerosis and isolated demyelinating syndrome, a precondition of multiple sclerosis. The National Ministry of Health passed a resolution to amend this program. The resolution had the effect of excluding from the program all isolated demyelinating syndrome sufferers and any multiple sclerosis sufferers who had …Read more

Brigida Díaz was told by her doctors that she urgently needed surgical intervention to replace her pacemaker. Her original pacemaker had been covered by a social welfare scheme, and she had used these funds to replace it once. However, by the time she was told that her pacemaker needed to be replaced a second time, …Read more

Parents brought a case against Swiss Medical Groups, S.A., on behalf of their infant child suffering from a condition which required urgent treatment. Petitioners requested extraordinary remedies from the Court, asking the Court to order Swiss Medical Groups, S.A., to provide the necessary and urgent medical treatment to their child. Petitioners claimed that by not …Read more

Mr. XX filed a tutela action (appeal for legal protection) against the Ministry of National Defence-School of Cadets for expelling him after discovering that he was HIV-positive during a blood donation. The discharge occurred two months before the petitioner was to be promoted to Second Lieutenant. The petitioner had passed all health exams and was found …Read more

Petitioners challenged the constitutionality of Article 9 of Costa Rica’s tobacco regulation act, which provided for a partial ban on cigar and cigarette advertisement. In their submission, petitioners claimed the constitutional standard to safeguard the right to health, to life and to a clean environment could not be appropriately fulfilled by such a partial ban, …Read more

The League of Housewives, Consumers and Users of Argentina [Liga de Amas de Casa, Consumidores y Usuarios de la República Argentina] requested that judiciary declare that articles 5 and 7 of Act 418 and its amendment 439 of the City of Buenos Aires were contrary to the National Constitution. The Plaintiff alleged that under the …Read more

Residents of Ilo, Peru and representatives of deceased Ilo residents brought personal injury claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act (“ATCA”) against Southern Peru Copper Corporation (“SPCC”). SPCC was majority-owned by Asarco, a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Peru. Asarco was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grupo Mexico, S.A. de C.V., a …Read more

M described himself as a “marijuana/freedom activist” helping to operate a co-operative, non-profit association seeking to minimize the harm caused by marijuana use. The police raided the organisation’s premises and seized 300 grams of marijuana. M was charged with possession of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking pursuant to section 4(2) Narcotics Control Act 1985 …Read more

The respondent Starson was a physicist who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had intermittently received treatment in various mental institutions in the United States and Canada. Historically, he had used medication to regulate the condition. However, the side effects dulled Starson’s mind, and he refused further treatment, despite being informed his condition would deteriorate …Read more