Abstract
Euthanasia is the act of ending the life of a patient at the express request of him, for suffering a disease without perspective of cure, this practice is very discussed, confronts principles of bioethics. In most countries, it is not allowed but its study and approval is spreading. The objective wasto determine the perception of euthanasia in medical students of the National University of Caaguazu (UNCA) and the Catholic University of Asuncion (UCA) during the year 2017. A cross-sectional descriptive observational study was carried out with probabilistic sampling by conglomerates, the instrument was a questionnaire validated by experts. Measures of central tendency, dispersion and pro- portions were used. Three hundred and seventeen medical students were included, 66% were female, and the students’ age was 22.5 ± 2.7 years, the number of years studied was 3.8 ± 1.8 years. 64% of all students were in favor of euthanasia (61% from UNCA and 66% from UCA), 48% of all students considered euthanasia as a dignified dead. 57% of men would be willing to practice euthanasia. 94% of agnostics found themselves in favor of euthanasia. More than half of medical students found themselves in favor of eu- thanasia and considered euthanasia as a dignified dead. Males and agnostics represented a higher proportion of students in favor of euthanasia.
Highlights
Euthanasia is the act of ending the life of a patient at the express request of him, for suffering a disease without perspective of cure, this practice is very discussed, confronts principles of bioethics
Entre los argumentos de las personas que apoyan la eutanasia se destaca que la decisión de dónde y cuándo morir es una de las más privadas y personales de cada persona y ¿cómo podemos denegar la solicitud de un paciente de morir antes que después? Entonces, si respetar la decisión de los pacientes fuera la premisa, ¿por qué negar la solicitud de eutanasia a una persona que no padece una enfermedad terminal pero desea morir por otras razones, como alguna dolencia tolerable y tratable o la pérdida de un ser querido? Fundamentarse en la autonomía para la eutanasia genera una “pendiente resbaladiza” con consecuencias tétricas [5,6]
Con relación al estado civil, 295 encuestados (93%) eran solteros, 12 se encontraban en unión estable (3,8%), 9 casados (3%) y uno divorciado (0,3%). (Tabla 1)
Summary
Euthanasia is the act of ending the life of a patient at the express request of him, for suffering a disease without perspective of cure, this practice is very discussed, confronts principles of bioethics. El aumento de la cantidad de muertes producidas por enfermedades crónicas produce una mayor consideración a los cuidados en el final de la vida, desarrollándose así toda una especialidad, la Medicina Paliativa, sin embargo a la vez se plantea ofrecer al enfermo terminal la posibilidad de decidir el momento de su muerte, cuya práctica implicaría una infracción de los médicos al juramento hipocrático que reza «nunca daré un veneno a un paciente aunque me lo pidiere»
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