TY - JOUR
T1 - Pediatric euthanasia in Belgium: some ethical considerations
AU - Spagnolo, Antonio Gioacchino
AU - Giglio, Francesca
AU - 33189,
AU - FACOLTA', DI MEDICINA E CHIRURGIA "A.GEMELLI"
AU - Bioetica, ROMA - Dipartimento di Sicurezza e
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - On February 2014, the Belgian Parliament approved the first law on children euthanasia stating that also young children can make the autonomous choice to have their lives terminated. This article reviews the ethical objections to the law. These include the impossibility to gauge the competence of children and their vulnerability,and the fact that euthanasia itself implies that some lives are not worthy of living. The denial of life as a ‘‘bonum onticum’’ reneges the very principles on which civil laws and medical ethics are founded.
AB - On February 2014, the Belgian Parliament approved the first law on children euthanasia stating that also young children can make the autonomous choice to have their lives terminated. This article reviews the ethical objections to the law. These include the impossibility to gauge the competence of children and their vulnerability,and the fact that euthanasia itself implies that some lives are not worthy of living. The denial of life as a ‘‘bonum onticum’’ reneges the very principles on which civil laws and medical ethics are founded.
KW - Autonomy vs Beneficence
KW - Belgian Law
KW - Pediatric euthanasia
KW - Quality of life
KW - Autonomy vs Beneficence
KW - Belgian Law
KW - Pediatric euthanasia
KW - Quality of life
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10807/65035
U2 - 10.1007/s12682-014-0189-y
DO - 10.1007/s12682-014-0189-y
M3 - Article
SP - 146
EP - 149
JO - JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND THE PERSON
JF - JOURNAL OF MEDICINE AND THE PERSON
SN - 2035-9411
ER -