Citation

Salas SP, Salinas RA, Besio M, Micolich C, Arriagada A, Misseroni Raddatz A, Valenzuela CY, Novoa F, Bórquez Estefó G. Rev. Med. Chile 2020; 148(4): 542-547.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Sociedad Medica De Santiago)

DOI

10.4067/s0034-98872020000400542

PMID

unavailable

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 different perspectives about physicians' participation in MAD, offering arguments to colleagues and stimulating their participation in this important debate.

Language: es

Keywords

Ethics; Euthanasia; Physician's Role; Palliative Care; Suicide, Assisted