Ministry will table Bill on patient rights

The Health Ministry is planning to table a legislation on HIV/AIDS in the Winter Session of Parliament to prevent discrimination of people l...

The Health Ministry is planning to table a legislation on HIV/AIDS in the Winter Session of Parliament to prevent discrimination of people living with the dreaded disease. ‘‘Dealing with stigma and human rights violation (associated with HIV/AIDS), in even things like school admissions, will be difficult if there is no law. The Health Ministry is planning to remove that handicap,’’ said Health Secretary J.V.R. Prasada Rao.

A Delhi-based human rights organisation, Lawyers’ Collective, has prepared the draft of the Bill, which is likely to be submitted to the Ministry in a month’s time. The rights body had been consulting other stakeholders, such as NGOs and people living with HIV/AIDS, across various cities since 2002.

The draft deals with issues, such as discrimination related to HIV/AIDS in employment, education, healthcare, travel, residence and insurance. It also addresses the need for informed consent to HIV-related testing, treatment and research.

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According to the Ministry, it would take another month or two to ‘‘polish’’ the draft before sending it to the Law Ministry. ‘‘But we will be making all efforts to table the Bill in the next Parliament session,’’ said Rao.

The legislation was a brainchild of Kapil Sibal, then Minister of State for Science and Technology, and the National AIDS Control Organisation. The organisation had earlier set an April 2003 deadline for presenting the draft in Parliament.

Lawyers’ Collective said the government has promised them resources to finish their task. ‘‘We are very excited about this opportunity but also feel a great sense of responsibility towards civil society in ensuring that its concerns are reflected in the law,’’ said Tripti Tandon, a senior project officer.

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