El presente articulo expone los resultados de una investigacion empirica que se ha adentrado en las experiencias y discursos ciudadanos respecto del tema de la muerte en dignidad y de la legitimidad ...de la implementacion de medidas de acompanamiento de este proceso. A traves de la realizacion y analisis de siete grupos de discusion, llevados a cabo en la Region Metropolitana de Santiago de Chile, se ha podido concluir la existencia de altos niveles de consenso entre la ciudadania, respecto de la legitimidad de la implementacion de medidas externas para terminar con la vida de pacientes que lo soliciten debido al padecimiento de enfermedades terminales, y de la necesidad de contar con una normativa legal que respalde su aplicacion. Todo esto en el marco de una amplia valoracion ciudadana de la autonomia personal y desde la narracion de experiencias que revelan los grandes costos emocionales y monetarios que implica el cuidado de personas con enfermedades terminales. Palabras clave: eutanasia, envejecimiento, opinion publica, politicas de la salud This article presents the results of empirical research that investigates the citizen's perspectives regarding the issue of death with dignity and the legitimacy of the implementation of measures to accompany this process. Through the implementation and analysis of seven discussion groups, carried out in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago de Chile, it can be concluded that there are high levels of consensus among the citizens supporting the need for implementation of external measures to end the life of patients who request it due to suffering related to terminal illnesses, and the need to have legal regulations that supports its application. All of this has been evaluated within the framework of a broad citizen assessment of personal autonomy and from the narration of experiences that reveal the great emotional and monetary burden involved in the process of caring for people with terminal illnesses. Keywords: euthanasia, ageing, public opinion, health policy O presente artigo expoe os resultados de uma investigacao empirica que adentrou as experiencias e discursos cidadaos a respeito do tema da morte com dignidade e da legitimidade da implementacao de medidas de acompanhamento deste processo. Atraves da analise do obtido em sete grupos de discussao, levados a cabo na Regiao Metropolitana de Santiago do Chile, se pode demonstrar a existencia de altos niveis de consenso entre as pessoas no que diz respeito a legitimidade de implementar medidas externas para terminar com a vida de pacientes que as solicitem devido ao padecimento de enfermidades terminais e da necessidade de contar com uma normativa legal que respalde sua aplicacao. Tudo isto no contexto de uma ampla valorizacao cidada da autonomia pessoal e a partir da narrativa de experiencias que revelam os grandes custos emocionais e economicos implicados no cuidado de pessoas com enfermidades terminais. Palavras chave: eutanasia, envelhecimento, opiniao publica, politicas de saude
Euthanasia and the sacred Michael Kelly
Australasian Catholic record,
01/2020, Letnik:
97, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
For euthanasia the case is deceptively easy to make. When the suffering of others is ended by death we often feel relief. Commonly we accept that animals must sometimes, as the saying goes, be 'put ...out of their misery'. And, while most people who advocate euthanasia do not rely simply on our revulsion from suffering as though there were no other considerations, the public appeal of their view probably does rest largely on it.
Euthanasia and the sacred Michael Kelly
Australasian Catholic record,
01/2020, Letnik:
97, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
For euthanasia the case is deceptively easy to make. When the suffering of others is ended by death we often feel relief. Commonly we accept that animals must sometimes, as the saying goes, be 'put ...out of their misery'. And, while most people who advocate euthanasia do not rely simply on our revulsion from suffering as though there were no other considerations, the public appeal of their view probably does rest largely on it.
The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia provides the most thorough overview of the ethical and legal issues raised by assisted suicide and euthanasia--as well as the most comprehensive argument ...against their legalization--ever published. In clear terms accessible to the general reader, Neil Gorsuch thoroughly assesses the strengths and weaknesses of leading contemporary ethical arguments for assisted suicide and euthanasia. He explores evidence and case histories from the Netherlands and Oregon, where the practices have been legalized. He analyzes libertarian and autonomy-based arguments for legalization as well as the impact of key U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the debate. And he examines the history and evolution of laws and attitudes regarding assisted suicide and euthanasia in American society.
IMPORTANCE: The increasing legalization of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide worldwide makes it important to understand related attitudes and practices. OBJECTIVE: To review the legal status ...of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide and the available data on attitudes and practices. EVIDENCE REVIEW: Polling data and published surveys of the public and physicians, official state and country databases, interview studies with physicians, and death certificate studies (the Netherlands and Belgium) were reviewed for the period 1947 to 2016. FINDINGS: Currently, euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide can be legally practiced in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Colombia, and Canada (Quebec since 2014, nationally as of June 2016). Physician-assisted suicide, excluding euthanasia, is legal in 5 US states (Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, and California) and Switzerland. Public support for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in the United States has plateaued since the 1990s (range, 47%-69%). In Western Europe, an increasing and strong public support for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide has been reported; in Central and Eastern Europe, support is decreasing. In the United States, less than 20% of physicians report having received requests for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, and 5% or less have complied. In Oregon and Washington state, less than 1% of licensed physicians write prescriptions for physician-assisted suicide per year. In the Netherlands and Belgium, about half or more of physicians reported ever having received a request; 60% of Dutch physicians have ever granted such requests. Between 0.3% to 4.6% of all deaths are reported as euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide in jurisdictions where they are legal. The frequency of these deaths increased after legalization. More than 70% of cases involved patients with cancer. Typical patients are older, white, and well-educated. Pain is mostly not reported as the primary motivation. A large portion of patients receiving physician-assisted suicide in Oregon and Washington reported being enrolled in hospice or palliative care, as did patients in Belgium. In no jurisdiction was there evidence that vulnerable patients have been receiving euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide at rates higher than those in the general population. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are increasingly being legalized, remain relatively rare, and primarily involve patients with cancer. Existing data do not indicate widespread abuse of these practices.
This book tells the story of German nurses who, directly or indirectly, participated in the Nazis' "euthanasia" measures against patients with mental and physical disabilities, measures that claimed ...well over 100, 000 victims from 1939 to 1945. How could men and women who were trained to care for their patients come to kill or assist in murder or mistreatment? This is the central question pursued by Bronwyn McFarland-Icke as she details the lives of nurses from the beginning of the Weimar Republic through the years of National Socialist rule. Rather than examine what the Party did or did not order, she looks into the hearts and minds of people whose complicity in murder is not easily explained with reference to ideological enthusiasm. Her book is a micro-history in which many of the most important ethical, social, and cultural issues at the core of Nazi genocide can be addressed from a fresh perspective. McFarland-Icke offers gripping descriptions of the conditions and practices associated with psychiatric nursing during these years by mining such sources as nursing guides, personnel records, and postwar trial testimony. Nurses were expected to be conscientious and friendly caretakers despite job stress, low morale, and Nazi propaganda about patients' having "lives unworthy of living." While some managed to cope with this situation, others became abusive. Asylum administrators meanwhile encouraged nurses to perform with as little disruption and personal commentary as possible. So how did nurses react when ordered to participate in, or tolerate, the murder of their patients? Records suggest that some had no conflicts of conscience; others did as they were told with regret; and a few refused. The remarkable accounts of these nurses enable the author to re-create the drama taking place while sharpening her argument concerning the ability and the willingness to choose.
