The human rights to life and conscience and resolving conflicts of human rights

The authors raise the question of what should be done when legally recognized human rights come into conflict. This serious problem is further complicated by a lack of consensus concerning prioritization among human rights. Nevertheless, the authors believe that a solid legal and ethical case can be made that the right to life should trump other human rights claims, particularly in its negative version. It is in fact, logically and chronologically the most basic human right. The authors believe that there is a strong logic to prioritizing the three generations of human rights as generally more important to less so. Viewing the problem of conscience rights in healthcare settings through the prism of conflicting rights and attempting to determine which rights should prevail is also a helpful exercise. The authors concur with the generally high position that the human right of conscience of healthcare professionals has been granted in most legislation and court decisions on the issue.