Children's right to health: Implications for decision-making in newborn medical care

Abstract

The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN Convention)1 provides children with the right of the highest attainable standard of health (article 24). All countries in the world except the United States have now ratified this convention, which has implications for national health policy and priorities regarding health care for every child. The convention places an obligation on all public and private health institutions to ensure that the best interest of the child is assessed and taken as a primary consideration in all actions affecting children. The important point emphasized by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is that, based on the UN Convention, each child has a right to be assessed individually before a decision is made regarding proper treatment. As a consequence, the UN Convention may change practice in handling of newborns in a wider perspective.