The impact of European Union law on Human Rights

This article considers the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), both in its own right since the 1950s, and in conjunction with the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) when this brought these rights home by incorporating them into the domestic law of the UK thus enabling our judiciary to give effect to them directly. The ECHR and the HRA say very little, if anything, expressly about health or health care, but have been relied on by litigants in a wide range of contexts, including but not limited to, assisted reproduction, abortion, access to treatment, management of health records, end of life issues and the investigation of potentially negligent or criminal conduct by professionals.