Death, euthanasia and palliative care

Abstract

The human person has, whether in act or potency, has intelligence to perform abstract operations; a will which can love, and freedom to determinate what to do or not to (or not to do at all). These characteristics, inherent to human person’s being, are derived of the substantial unity of spiritual soul and body, and they bestow human beings with a special dignity, which must be reflected in the way each one assumes his or her own existence, and how he/she is treated and respected by others.

Indeed, the human person’s dignity confers personal rights and duties, among which is found, in a preeminent place, the unconditioned respect to every innocent human life (one’s one as well as others’). Therefore, the human being’s death and its surrounding period demand profound respect and to be treated according to such dignity, which allows every one to face this step with a maximum of decorum and integrity.

While euthanasia represents a manner of facing death which disclaims human life’s inviolability and, hence, attempts against the human person’s dignity, on the other hand, palliative care counts nowadays with very efficacious tools to alleviate suffering and to attend human beings in this crucial step of life in consonance with the dignity of which they are endowed.