Anti-doping and medical privacy

The right to privacy is a fundamental human entitlement that is recognized in the UN Declaration of Human Rights and underpins the essence of human dignity¹. However, such rights are never absolute and in the context of anti-doping in sports, the use of biological passports and whereabouts notifications have increasingly seen athletes’ privacy being infringed upon. The UK Anti-Doping’s (UKAD) agreement with NHS Protect could potentially be the most recent incursion on that privilege.