The right to euthanasia: for or against?

Authors

  • R. O. Stefanchuk V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine,
  • A. O. Yanchuk State Secretary of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Kyiv,
  • M. М. Stefanchuk State Higher Educational Establishment «Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman», Ukraine,
  • M. О. Stefanchuk Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine,
  • N. Ye. Blazhivska Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine, Kyiv,

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14739/2310-1237.2018.3.151873

Keywords:

euthanasia, right to die, legal status

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to determine the feasibility of introducing euthanasia in Ukraine based on the analysis of
world experience. Euthanasia is the most controversial and ambiguous topic of scientifi research, which is on the brink of medicine and law. Euthanasia is the type of behavior of the medical offir (action, inaction or decision) committed consciously and intentionally, and also aimed at ending the unbearable suffring (physical, mental, moral and other characters), carried out on a repeated
and unambiguous request of the patient (and his legal representative), subject to his complete, timely and objective awareness of the consequences of such interference resulting from the death of the patient. In the world there is no single approach to the issues of legalization of euthanasia. Today, the tendency towards legalization of passive euthanasia in the legal order of some economically developed countries is developing. However, this was preceded by a serious social controversy on this issue with the widest possible involvement of it, in the law, medicine, bioethics, philosophy, sociology and other sciences.
However, in spite of the established trends, euthanasia in none of its forms can be considered as a suffient legal basis for depriving a person of his life and the corresponding termination of his right to life. The priority direction of development should be not the legalization of euthanasia, but the development of palliative care, which aims to eliminate pain and provide comprehensive support to patients, members of their families, and others.




References

Bacon, F. (1977) Sochineniya [Works]. , Vol. 1, Moscow: Mysl’. [In Russian].

Sudo, Z. (1987) Evtanaziya [Euthanasia]. Retrieved from http://euthanasia.at.ua/load/1-1-0-9. [In Russian].

Leone, S. (2000) Smertelnnie chory. Cracow: WAM.

Brzhezinski, T. (2012) Etyka lekarska. Warsaw: Lekarskie PZWL.

Ivanyushkin, A. Ya. (1990) Professional'naya e'tika v medicine (filosofskie ocherki) [Professional ethics in medicine (philosophical essays)]. Moscow: Medicina. [In Russian].

Onwuteaka-Philipsen, B. D., Brinkman-Stoppelenburg, A., Penning, C., de Jong-Krul, G. J., van Delden, J. J., & van der Heide, A. (2012) Trends in end-of-life practices before and after the enactment of the euthanasia law in the Netherlands from 1990 to 2010: a repeated cross-sectional survey. The Lancet, 380(9845), 908–15. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61034-4.

Griffiths, J., Bood, A., & Weyers, H. (1998) Euthanasia and Law in the Netherlands. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. Retrieved from https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/31731/ssoar-1998-griffiths_et_al-Euthanasia_and_law_in_the.pdf?sequence=1.

Alfonsa, H., & Weyers, M. (2002) Euthanasie: het proces van rechtsverandering. – Datum: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Heleen_Weyers/publication/30480257_Euthanasie_het_proces_van_rechtsverandering/links/5730290d08aee022975b72d6/Euthanasie-het-proces-van-rechtsverandering.pdf.

Slavakina, N. A. (1999) E'vtanaziya: za i protiv (pravovye aspekty) [Euthanasia: Pros and Cons (legal aspects)]. Moscow : MGIMO Publish. [In Russian].

Murphy, W. F., & Tanenhaus, J. (1977) Comparative Constitutional law Comparative Constitutional Law: Cases and Commentaries (Hardcover). N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan.

Soloviov, A. V. (2005) Pravo na zhyttia: tsyvilno-pravovi aspekty [The right to life: civil-law aspects]. Lviv. [in Ukrainian].

Erimia, C.-L. (2016) Ethical and Legislative Aspects on the Legislation of Euthanasia from the Patient Rights Perspective. Journal of Law and Administrative, 5, 49–62. Retrieved from http://jolas.ro/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/jolas5a7.pdf.

How to Cite

1.
Stefanchuk RO, Yanchuk AO, Stefanchuk MМ, Stefanchuk MО, Blazhivska NY. The right to euthanasia: for or against?. Pathologia [Internet]. 2018Dec.19 [cited 2024Mar.28];(3). Available from: http://pat.zsmu.edu.ua/article/view/151873

Issue

Section

Review