Generality
Euthanasia is the act of terminating purposefully the existence of a person in very serious health conditions, in order to alleviate his pain and suffering.
There are various forms of euthanasia, including: active euthanasia, passive euthanasia, voluntary euthanasia, non-voluntary euthanasia and involuntary euthanasia.
In Italy and the United Kingdom, at the moment, euthanasia is illegal. In countries like the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, it has been legalized for several years now.
What is euthanasia?
Euthanasia is the act of deliberately putting an end to a person's life in serious health, in order to alleviate his pain and suffering.
ORIGIN OF THE TERM EUTHANASIA
The term euthanasia derives from the union of the Greek words "eu" ( εὔ ) and "thanatos" ( θάνατος ), which in Italian mean "good" and "death" respectively.
Therefore, the literal meaning of euthanasia is " good death " or " death for a good purpose ".
IS IT SYNONYMOUS OF ASSISTED SUICIDE?
Several people believe that the terms euthanasia and assisted suicide have the same meaning.
However, this is not the case: there are some differences between the two circumstances.
In fact, assisted suicide is the entirely deliberate act, but without direct intervention, to assist a person who has decided to kill himself.
HISTORY
In ancient Greece and ancient Rome, euthanasia - and more generally the fact of fulfilling the requests of a person intending to die - were particularly widespread: according to the ideas of that time, each human could dispose of his own life as he thought best.
The vision of euthanasia and any assisted suicide underwent a marked change with the advent of Christianity.
In the following centuries, numerous philosophers - from Francis Bacon to Karl Marx - and several medical authors of famous treatises expressed themselves in favor or against euthanasia.
From the historical-cultural point of view, the birth, at the beginning of the twentieth century, of numerous small pro-euthanasia associations deserves a mention, which, today, are united in one big association: the World Federation of Right to Die Societies ( or World Federation of Societies for the Right to Die).
The basic activity of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies is to raise public awareness, governments and parliaments about the rights of terminally ill patients and the recognition of these rights.
| Table: key terms and definitions that may relate to the issue of euthanasia. |
| Biological testament: it is a written document in which an individual expresses his will, if he suffered from a serious morbid condition. |
| Palliative care: according to the Italian law n. 38/2010 are: "the set of therapeutic, diagnostic and assistance interventions, aimed at both the sick person and their family unit, aimed at the active and total care of patients whose underlying disease, characterized by unstoppable evolution and by a poor prognosis, no longer responds to specific treatments ". This definition is inspired by the definition of palliative care according to the WHO (World Health Organization). |
| DNR: is the English acronym of Do Not Resuscitate, which in Italian means "do not resurrect". It is the acronym that, in US medical records, indicates the order not to resurrect a patient (resuscitation), if he is the victim of a cardiac arrest. |
| Futile treatment: therapy which, according to the medical team treating a patient in serious health conditions, is completely ineffective. |
| Dual effect doctrine: ethical theory that grants the use of drugs to shorten a person's life, provided that the primary objective is only to alleviate the pain of the victim. |
| Competence: a patient with competence or competence is an individual who understands his morbid condition, who knows the implications of the latter and knows what the various existing treatments entail. |
Types
There are various ways to classify euthanasia.
A possible classification method distinguishes euthanasia in:
- Active euthanasia : it is when a person, relying for example on a conspicuous injection of sedatives or muscle relaxants, causes the death of a seriously ill person whose fate is already written. Active euthanasia is acting directly and with specific purposes.
- Passive euthanasia : it is when a person causes the death of a subject in serious health conditions, not administering any type of treatment necessary for the maintenance of life. Passive euthanasia is an indirect action, voluntarily omitting the use of treatments that are essential for survival.
Typical examples of passive euthanasia are: the switching off of the machine that supports breathing in a terminally ill patient unable to breathe independently, or the failure to resort to surgery that could (but is not certain) lengthen the life span of the patient.
Another possible classification of euthanasia, on the other hand, recognizes the existence of:
- Voluntary euthanasia : it is when a person causes the death of an individual at the express request of the latter. In general, the individual making the request is a seriously ill person.
- Non-voluntary euthanasia : it is when a person decides for the death of an individual in very serious health conditions, favorable to euthanasia, but unable at that time to express himself in favor of the latter. This is the case, for example, of people in a coma or with severe brain damage, who had previously declared on several occasions that, in such circumstances, they would have opted for euthanasia.
- Involuntary euthanasia : it is when a person decides for the death of an individual from the destiny now marked, going against the will or desires of the latter.
It is not really murder, but a way to reduce the duration of suffering.
To understand, think of the case of a soldier shot in the stomach in the stomach. The wound is deadly and his fate decided, but death is not immediate, but it could occur even within several hours. The doctor who takes care of such a soldier recognizes the situation and acts by administering to the individual in treatment a lethal dose of sedatives, to alleviate their suffering.
The soldier "suffers" the decisions of another person; however, this person acts in his interest, because the consequences of the mortal wound would be far more painful.
According to the laws of many countries of the world, voluntary euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia are two forms of culpable (ie involuntary) homicide, while involuntary euthanasia is a form of real malicious murder (that is, voluntary).
This means that, in the aforementioned countries, those who help a person die, more or less on the basis of a request from the latter, are punished with arrest and imprisonment.
Voluntary euthanasia
Examples to understand:
- People who ask someone for help to die
- People who refuse any kind of heavy, "heavy" treatment
- People who explicitly request the interruption of any type of treatment on themselves, including the use of medical machinery
- People who refuse to eat and eat in general in order to die
Non-voluntary euthanasia
It may concern for example:
- People in a coma
- Too young people, such as a baby
- Very old people
- People seriously retarded from the mental point of view
- People with serious neurological damage
Involuntary euthanasia
Examples to understand who could relate to:
- People victims of deadly gunshots
- People who are victims of very serious burns and certainly lethal outcomes
Arguments in favor
People in favor of euthanasia claim that every human being has the full right to control his own life, therefore also deciding for death if he considers it appropriate.
Furthermore, they appeal to the concept of "quality of life", stating that:
- A life of quality is a life that is worth living.
- The atrocious sufferings, which imposes a terminal illness and some symptomatic treatments for this, undermine the tenor of existence and make the failure to grant legal euthanasia immoral.
Clearly, supporters of euthanasia are keen to point out that an individual intending to die should not abuse or clash with other people's rights in seeking death. In other words, the choice to die must not involve other people, harming them, because it would mean deciding on the lives of other individuals.
Arguments against
The arguments of those who reject euthanasia are different:
- Religious argument : the most widespread religions in the world condemn euthanasia and suicide, because they affirm that life is a gift of God and only God can decide when to take it away from a human being.
Therefore, a person who seeks death for himself is as if he wanted to replace God or not rely on his will.
Religions like Christianity, Judaism and Islam are against euthanasia.
On the contrary, the Hindu religion and the Buddhist religion are in some respects favorable.
- Medical-ethical argument : the doctors' code of ethics explicitly prohibits the use of euthanasia and states that every doctor has the obligation to preserve human life as much as possible.
- Argument of the so-called "slippery slope" : those who support this argument affirm that legalizing euthanasia would have a series of unpleasant consequences.
First, it would give doctors a huge and dangerous decision-making power.
Secondly, it would open a very delicate discussion on the pathologies for which an individual may or may not require euthanasia.
Thirdly, it would justify a reduction in expenses aimed at finding effective treatments against certain diseases (in this case, those for which euthanasia is envisaged).
Finally, it could represent the end of life for those people whose doctors have mistakenly diagnosed a terminal illness and who, for this reason, have opted for euthanasia.
The term "slippery slope" is a reminder of the aforementioned consequences and the danger that lies behind a possible legalization of euthanasia.
- Family argument: it is an argument to protect the family members of a terminally ill person, who very often wish to spend time with their loved one, before death.
Italian legislation
Italian law condemns both those who put active euthanasia into practice (it is murder, according to article 575 of the penal code) and those who carry out voluntary euthanasia (it is murder of the consenter, according to article 579 of the penal code) .
In reality, it also provides a penalty for those who implement passive euthanasia, but it should be pointed out that this form of euthanasia is difficult to prove.
Curiosity : according to the legislation of our country, precisely based on article 580 of the penal code, assisted suicide is also a crime, in a similar way to euthanasia.
WHO BEAT TO LEGALIZE EUTANASIA IN ITALY?
Among the Italian associations that are fighting to legalize euthanasia or in any case to raise public awareness on this issue, there are: the so-called Bioethics Council (born in 1989), Exit-Italia (born in 1996), Liberautta (born in 2001 ) and the radical association Luca Coscioni .
PROPOSALS OF LAW IN ITALY
The first member of the Italian Parliament who proposed a law for the termination of therapies for terminally ill patients was a certain Loris Fortuna, in 1984. Before that, Fortuna also participated in the drafting of the law on abortion.
In July 2000, the then Minister of Health, Umberto Veronesi, explained the need to find a solution for euthanasia and that this was not to be considered a taboo.
The following year, exactly in August 2001, the Radical Party presented a bill of popular initiative, defined with the words " Legalization of euthanasia ".
This proposal was not successful, or rather the Parliament of that time did not take it into consideration.
Coming therefore to more recent times, to be precise to the year 2012, there is another law proposal of popular initiative, always in favor of the legalization of euthanasia.
Promoted by the radical Association Luca Coscioni and Exit-Italia, this bill is still awaiting a decision by the Italian Parliament.
Abroad
In the world, there are countries in which euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal (exactly as in Italy), countries where only one of these two practices is illegal and, finally, countries where criminal offenses are not administrative offenses only ( decriminalization).
Here is the specific position taken by some countries in the world:
- United Kingdom : the law considers both euthanasia and assisted suicide to be illegal. Several politicians have tried to legalize these two practices, but without success.
- Netherlands (Holland) : approved the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2000 (after their decriminalization in 1994), making it the first country in the world to take a legal position against such practices.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sport, euthanasia "allows a person to end their existence with dignity, having received every kind of palliative care available".
- Belgium : legalized euthanasia in September 2002. The approval of this practice in Parliament came with 86 votes in favor, 51 votes against and 10 abstentions. It was, in fact, the second European country, after the Netherlands, to declare itself legally in favor of euthanasia.
- Luxembourg : legalized euthanasia in 2008, but the entry into force of the law that allows this practice dates back to the following year, 2009. Temporarily speaking, it was the third European country to legalize euthanasia, after Holland and Belgium.
- France : in March 2015 the French Parliament approved a law that allows, only at the express request of the patient, the use of drugs for a "deep and continuous sedation".
- Germany : considers euthanasia a crime, but not assisted suicide, for which the patient must be conscious of his actions.
- Denmark : there is little clarity on this. He condemned euthanasia, even if the person who killed the patient shows that he acted at the explicit request of the same patient.
At the same time, however, it considers it legal to limit aggressive medical treatment.
- Sweden : has decriminalized both active euthanasia and assisted suicide.
- Hungary : allows passive euthanasia only at the express request of the patient.
- Spain : decriminalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in 1995.
- Norway : condemns euthanasia, but assigns a reduced sentence to those who show that they have acted at the express request of the victim or on an individual with an incurable disease.
- China : there is a law that authorizes hospitals to practice euthanasia for terminally ill patients.
- United States : euthanasia is illegal in almost every US state. However, it should be pointed out that at any time patients may refuse to continue receiving medical care or support, even if this can lead to early death.
Assisted suicide is legal in 5 states: Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Montana and California.
- Canada : Numerous discussions are underway regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide. At present, the State of Quebec, which authorized assisted suicide, deserves a mention.
- Colombia : legalized euthanasia in 2015.
- Israel : Israeli laws explicitly prohibit euthanasia. In this case, the influence of religion is very important.
