Passive euthanasia

Chile's Law 20584 (2012) refers to patients' rights and duties; it states in Art. 14, and repeats in Art. 16, that “Under no circumstances can the refusal of treatments have as objective the artificial acceleration of death, practices of euthanasia or abetting suicide.” This law was superseded by an amended version in 2023, in which Art. 16 repeats ad literam the previous version. A bill on euthanasia and palliative care has been approved by the House of Representatives (2021) and presented to the senate where it remains pending discussion of a draft “authorizing euthanasia in Chile for patients suffering terminal or incurable disease.” In his Public Account for 2023, President Boric vowed to request the senate to urgently dispatch said the bill. Nevertheless, it is expected to be dismissed, arguing that it is untimely to discuss euthanasia when more pressing economic issues like security, pensions, medical insurance need priority. Opposition parties have voiced their rejection to any form of euthanasia, even if their indication to legalize both individual and institutional right to conscientious objection is included. The accurate conclusion is that for the time being Chile will continue to prohibit any form of euthanasia or medically assisted suicide. In Perú and Ecuador, where euthanasia is prohibited and penalized, high courts have allowed the procedure in single cases, while nudging but not accelerating any permissive legal initiatives. The only country that legally “decriminalizes medically assisted suicide and active euthanasia” is Colombia, but implementation may not be easy in a country with a strong Catholic Church and unabated tendency to elect conservative presidents. I strongly support, and have publicly advocated for Schuklenk's expectations of a permissive regulation on euthanasia, but we need to overcome rhetoric based on dignity and human rights, both concepts amenable to controversy and dissent leading to biased lawmaking

Ethics in medical practice · Medicine · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Psychology