Chilean Patients Belonging To Vulnerable Groups: A Look From The Rulings Of The Inter-American Court*

This paper aims to examine, by applying the dogmatic legal method, the standards that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has set in recognizing the right to health of patients belonging to certain vulnerable groups. In this situation the State appears to be failing to comply with these standards in the two cases it has heard on this subject, the legal and public health policy changes that have been introduced in the last two decades to strengthen the rights of these patients, and the challenges that remain. The cases examined are convictions for violation of the right to life and personal integrity and the right to health of an elderly person; and the judgment declaring the violation of the rights to life, a dignified life, personal integrity, childhood, health, and social security of a girl with a disability.