The first part of this article explores the concept of human rights from a philosophical perspective, and in particular in relation to the 'right to health care'. It is argued that, irrespective of meta-ethical debates about the nature of rights, the ethos and language of moral deliberations related to human rights is essential to any ethics that places the victim and the sufferer at its centre. The second section discusses the rise of the 'right to privacy', particularly in the US, as an attempt to make the free will element of personal dominance over the element of fundamental human interest within the rights structure and when various rights
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appear to be contradictory. We conclude by discussing the relationship between human rights and moral values beyond the realm of rights, mainly human dignity, free will, human rationality and responsiveness to basic human needs.