George Annas has been repeatedly described as “the father of patient rights.” Annas died this week at age 79.
For much of his career, Annas was squarely focused on protecting the rights of people in situations when they had the least agency. He was a passionate advocate for the rights of hospital patients to refuse treatment.
Annas wrote or edited more than 20 books and nearly 400 articles on bioethics, health law, and human rights. Yet he never wrote just for the sake of writing. “The end goal was to try to make health better for people in the US and globally. There was always a sense of purpose, driven by centering the patient.”
There are good people.
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