Private health, public eye - Haaretz

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Wed., October 31, 2007 Cheshvan 19, 5768

Israel Time: 02:49 (EST+7)

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Private health, public eye

By Ze'ev Segal

Yesterday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did what a prime minister is expected to do in a democratic society that recognizes the public's right to know its leaders' state of health. By freeing his doctors from medical confidentiality, Olmert enabled his urologist, Professor Yaacov Ramon, to inform the public about the prime minister's medical condition, which does not impair his ability to do his job.

The necessity of transparency derives from the approach that a public figure is not entitled to complete privacy once he voluntarily places himself in the "public eye." The more important the public position, the smaller the right to privacy, which could even disappear altogether. The transparency expected of the prime minister, vice premier, president, defense minister and chief of staff is therefore greater than that expected of other ministers.

Existing law does not explicitly oblige senior public figures to reveal their state of health, and one could ostensibly argue that in the absence of a legal obligation, there is no obligation at all. When prime ministers Golda Meir and Menachem Begin held office, details of their state of health were not released.

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Since then, however, a "transparency revolution" has taken place, and ministers such as Ora Namir and Yehudit Naot volunteered reports on the surgery they underwent. The hospitalization of then prime minister Ariel Sharon brought home the need to strike a proper balance between the right to privacy and the public's right to know.

The complex debate over releasing information on a public figure's health includes medical confidentiality, the Patient's Rights Law and the Protection of Privacy Act. It also includes the Freedom of Information Act - which asserts that the right to privacy can be trumped by the public's right to know - and the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom, which guarantees a person's constitutional right to privacy but does not preclude legislation to override it when necessary.

In the case of an extremely senior public figure, the public interest in obtaining information about his health, which is relevant to his performance, takes precedence over the interest in concealing this information, which is private by its nature.

Since this approach is not reflected in the law, Olmert knew that he was not explicitly obliged to make his statement. He acted out of a sense of a public-ethical obligation, deriving from his fiduciary duty to the public. It is clear, however, that the matter should be explicitly regulated by law.

In recent years, various bills have been submitted to the Knesset on this matter, but none has been enacted. Former health minister Dan Naveh presented a bill more than a year ago which dealt with both the prime minister and candidates for prime minister. The bill would have required annual reports to be issued about the prime minister's medical condition, plus a special report should he be hospitalized or undergo an invasive treatment.

The bill would also have required candidates for prime minister to release a medical report at least 30 days before the elections. It authorized the health minister to decide what medical examinations would have to be reported and in what manner. The Knesset approved the bill by a majority of 30 to 29 in a preliminary reading and transferred it to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

In January this year, however, the committee debated the bill and dismissed it by a majority of six to four. The government had objected to the proposal, which it thought too sweeping. The Prime Minister's Office said it would draft rules to govern the issue, but has not yet done so.

Before such legislation is enacted, a public committee comprised of doctors and public figures is supposed to make a proposal on who should be obliged to reveal his state of health and the extent of this obligation. The example Olmert set yesterday should serve as a model - and not only for prime ministers.

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