Argumentos éticos a favor y en contra de la participación del profesional médico en la muerte asistida. Análisis del Departamento de Ética del Colegio Médico de Chile
Date
2020
Type:
Article
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Abstract
The discussion of a bill that allows medically assisted death (MAD) in Chile,
revived the debate about the ethics of this practice. The Department of Ethics of
the Chilean Medical Association herein analyzes arguments in favor or against
the participation of the medical profession in MAD. Among the main arguments
against the participation of physicians in this practice are that MAD conflicts
with the basic ethical principles of medical practice, that it is contrary to the
purposes of medicine and that it could erode the patients’ and society’s confidence
in physicians. The arguments in favor are related to physician ́s compassion
and non-abandonment of patients during their illness, choosing palliative care
and ushering them to the final instance. Additionally, there is social expectation
that this practice will be carried out by trained physicians who can verify that
the strict criteria established by the legislation are met, guarantee that it obeys
to a repeated request of a fully capable patient, and who is able to deal with the
complications of the procedure. In this document we aimed to represent the di-
fferent perspectives about physicians’ participation in MAD, offering arguments
to colleagues and stimulating their participation in this important debate.
Description
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Citation
Revista Médica de Chile, 2020, vol. 148: 542-547
Keywords
Ethics, Euthanasia, Palliative Care, Physician’s Role, Suicide, Assisted