Ethical and legal issues in AIDS – An Indian perspective

The global epidemic of AIDS is “spinning out of control” and it is reported that the soaring number of cases of AIDS and of infected with HIV, are alarming in India. The HIV virus has been deeply rooted and spreading day by day like wildfire and posting a challenge to the medical scientists and the judiciary in India. Law and medical ethics are two disciplines with a considerable overlap. Law lays down the established rule for conduct, the violation of which creates criminal or civil liability; ethics is more about expected conduct that is what ought to be? The two key issues in medical ethics are confidentiality and consent have great importance in HIV and AIDS. The fact that often patients confidentiality and public interest come into conflict further complicates matter. Whether it is with regard to marriage or employment, there is no national law yet, as to which can be used as a guideline. For the time being, these state of affairs in India had been managed by the provision of Penal laws and personal laws. The issues related to human health to some extend are protected by these statutory provision; and more so under the Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of the Constitution.