The euthanasia is defined as the conduit through which brings a terminally ill patient , or carrier incurable disease that is in constant distress , a death quickly and painlessly . It is provided by law in Brazil as a crime of homicide.
Among the forms of this practice there is a differentiation between active euthanasia , when there is assistance or the participation of a third party – when a person intentionally kills the patient by means of a device that forces the cessation of the patient’s vital activities – and passive euthanasia , also known as orthothanasia ( correct death – ortho : right, thanatos: death), which consists of not performing resuscitation procedures or procedures that have the sole purpose of prolonging life, such as medications aimed at resuscitating the patient or life support machines such as artificial ventilation, which would remedy the cause momentarily of the patient’s death and would not consist of treatment of the patient’s illness or suffering, serving only to prolong biological life and, consequently, suffering.
The literature dealing with this topic is still scarce in Brazil, since the topic is taboo and generally associated with assisted suicide . However, those who advocate “good death” , as mentioned by them, the differentiation of assisted suicide with the argument that orthothanasia, or passive euthanasia, is nothing more than allowing the terminally ill, bearer of an incurable disease and consciously showing desire, can go through the experience of death in a “dignified manner and without unnecessary suffering”, without the use of invasive methods to prolong biological life and human suffering. A natural death.
Euthanasia is not a recent dilemma, it is a discussion that permeates human history because it deals with such a complex and sensitive issue: the individual choice of life for life, or the right to choose when suffering or pain may arise. become a tangible justification for seeking death as a means of relief.
Euthanasia is a right legally provided for in some countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium , in cases for terminally ill patients or patients with incurable diseases that cause physical and emotional suffering for the patient and their families. In other countries, however, it is possible for the patient to make a legal requirement that no resuscitation be attempted in the case of critical organ arrest. It is important to highlight that euthanasia is an act of the patient’s own individual will, when in a state of full awareness, which guarantees him the choice between ceasing his suffering in life or continuing to fight. This is the main point of the discussion about the right of individual choice to life: the freedom of the subject who suffers to determine whether his experience is justified either by his beliefs, individual will, or by simple compassion for those who would be affected by his death.
Don’t stop now … There’s more after the publicity;)
In Brazil, euthanasia is a crime provided for by law as murder, however, there is an attenuating factor that is verified if the act was performed at the request of the victim and with a view to relieving latent and inevitable suffering, which reduces penalty for 3 to 6 years’ imprisonment.
Debates on the subject are usually spearheaded by members of religious organizations , who argue that life is a divine gift over which no human being has the right or the power to voluntarily stop it, and by some health professionals who argue that illnesses that lead to suffering extending would be reduced if government officials invested more in higher quality health care. Those who fight for their legalization are guided by the right of individual choice , regardless of religious belief , with regard to their own life, always bearing in mind human dignity and the right to end suffering when there is no other alternative.
One of the greatest advocates of euthanasia, doctor Jack Kevorkian, assisted more than 130 terminally ill patients in their deaths *
The subject is incredibly complex and has several sides to be seen, so it is important that it is exposed in a way that is understandable to everyone. Films dealing with euthanasia are a good source of information. One of them is the film You don’t know Jack ( You don’t know Jack – 2010) which tells the real story of Jack Kervokian , a doctor who performed euthanasia for terminally ill patients and in acute suffering.
Life, death and human suffering are always complex and difficult to deal with. However, this is a reality to which we are all subject.
