HIV/AIDS free essay sample

HIV/AIDS is killing more and more South Africans daily and the mere possibility of a fourth line anti-retroviral treatment which has undergone the correct testing and systems should be made known to the public. Due to the new Medicines Control Amendment Act s5 which permits the Minister of Health to supress findings which she deems counter to current state policies by issuing a restraint on Professors Spies and Maseko, their treatment can now not be published. As counsel for Professors Maseko and Spies, they have standing to bring this constitutional challenge to the new Medicines Control Amendment Act s5. The challenge in question is one which entails real, earnest and vital controversy between litigants and nothing about the treatment is hypothetical. A favourable court decision for Professors Maseko and Spies will remedy the interference as it will be a development in law and will assist towards further decisions of this nature. We will write a custom essay sample on HIV/AIDS or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As in the case of Ferreira v Levin NO, where Chaskalson P held that the allegation need merely be that, objectively speaking, a right in the Bill of Rights has been infringed or threatened, this case, the right of freedom of expression in being violated. The right which is infringed upon is not emotional, but objective. By not being allowed to suppress their findings, Professors Maseko and Spies’ personal rights as per the Bill of Rights and their interests have been infringed upon and therefore do have standing. Taking this into consideration, Professors Maseko and Spies are entitled to apply for relief, including declaration of rights. They are able to demonstrate that there is sufficient interest, besides their own, in having their treatment published by just taking into account the statistics of deaths caused by HIV/AIDS and the need for tested treatment. Besides being personally affected by the new Medicines Control Amendment act5, the fundamental rights of Professors Maseko and Spies are at stake as their rights have been threatened by the Minister of Health issuing a prior restraint in publication. There is no evidence available that proves this treatment to be dangerous and is in fact seen as a breakthrough by international and domestic experts. The Minister of Health remains certain that the garlic, African Potatoes and vitamins is sufficient enough. In the case Janse van Rensburg v Minister van Handel en Nywerheid, Professors Maseko and Spies are entitled to know what are considered to be the dangerous elements of their treatment since no alternative relief was provided. Allowing the treatment to be released will be of great interest to the public and will benefit a great number of them too. The main personal rights of Professors Maseko and Spies which are being infringed upon are their freedom to the press and other media, their freedom to impart information or ideas and their academic freedom of scientific research, since their research findings have been suppressed. Taking into account all the above factors, Professors Maseko and Spies do have standing to bring this constitutional challenge to the new Medicines Control Amendment Act s5. As soon as a fundamental right has been infringed upon, it is the individual’s right to challenge this and stand before the court with their findings, proof and evidence. The Treatment Action Campaign’s Vision is to follow a unified quality health care system which provides equal access to HIV prevention and treatment services for all people. Their mission it to ensure that every person living with HIV has access to quality comprehensive prevention and treatment services to live a healthy life. They will approach their mission by securing comprehensive treatment and prevention services in selected focus districts as a model for other districts and to inform and support national advocacy efforts through its branches, providing a platform for people to mobilise and organise around HIV and related health rights. The new Medicines Control Amendment Act s5 permits the Minister of Health to suppress any scientific findings she deems to run counter to current state health policies by issuing a prior restraint on publication. Professors Maseko and Spies have discovered a fourth line anti-retroviral treatment that has proven to be a efficacious in combating the conditions of patients with HIV/AIDS and drug resistant forms of TB. However the Minister of health finds this treatment to be groundless and dangerous and has invoked her power under the new Medicines control Amendment Act s5 to prevent SA Medical Review from publishing the findings. The decision of the Minister of Health is going totally against what the Treatment Action Campaign is all about and therefore the Treatment Action Campaign will with this case and any other case which permits them from reaching their mission, challenge the Constitution by means of litigation, lobbying, advocacy and all forms of legitimate social mobilisation, any barrier or obstacle, including unfair discrimination, that limits access to treatment for HIV/AIDS in the private and public sector. The Treatment Action campaign will at no stage publish a treatment that has not been approved by experts and gone through the necessary tests. The Minister of health is also unable to offer any evidence that the treatment is dangerous. If there was evidence that this is true, there would be no reason to challenge the Constitution and the Treatment Action Campaign would not be interested in publishing the findings. The object and purpose of the Treatment Action Campaign is being threatened and therefore they will challenge this act so that they can have the treatment available for the public which they serve. The public certainly have sufficient interest in the aforesaid remedy. In Ferreira v Levin NO, O’Regan identified factors to determine whether a person is genuinely acting in the public interest and for this case, the factors which are relevant factors are the nature of the relief sought, and the range of persons who may be directly or indirectly affected by any order made by the court the opportunity that those persons had to present evidence and argument to the court. The Treatment Action Campaign has the interest of the public at hand, and does not want to publish the findings for their own benefit, but for the benefit of HIV/AIDS and TB patients as they all have sufficient interest in the remedy which they seek. The new Medicines Control Amendment Act s5 is violating the freedom of speech right and freedom to impart information and the Treatment Action campaign therefore has standing to bring this Constitutional Challenge to the New Medicines Control Amendment Act s5.