Eutanasia

Etimológicamente ?eutanasia? means: good death, candy, free of sufferings. It used Francisco Bacon in century XVII for the first time.

In general, eutanasia means the fact to cause a easy death and without pains to a patient who is next to die because of a terminal disease.

These means with which the death is caused can agree all in a positive intervention, for example, in an anesthetic sedative overdose and/or, that causes the death immediately. Sometimes the term is used to give a pious death for this class of intervention. Yet, the normal thing is that eutanasia is called to him positive, activates, or direct. However eutanasia is called negative, passive or indirect to the omission of an effective treatment, that is, to the fact of not prolonging the process to die by means of machines or apparatuses that maintain the life to the patient, like for example, the artificial respirator, canalizations, oxygen therapy etc.
The definitions are useful but it is not necessary to give too much importance them since they do not solve the moral problems by themselves to that they talk about.

Etimológicamente the word eutanasia meant in the antiquity a sweet death without atrocious sufferings. Today we did not talk about so much to the original meaning of the term, at the most to the intervention of the directed medicine to attenuate the pains the disease and the agony well, sometimes even with the risk of suppressing the life prematurely. In addition the term is used, in stricter sense, with the meaning ?to cause the death by mercy?, with the purpose of eliminating the last sufferings radically.

Since the suffering is the factor of the decision more important and perhaps most difficult to mensurar, we could say simply that, the animal suffers when it cannot live normally. Whatever it has been his form of life, a animalito that cannot continue with that routine loses its car respect, self-esteem and until its desires to live? Whereas the emotional suffering cannot be measured in a precise scale, they are not left doubts that they are conscious of their weakening and are affected negatively by him.

Although in some cases they do not represent through complaints or gestures, our animals they suffer and they feel pain, specially in those cases of hurt traumatismos and/or of diverse origin. If the clinical observation of these patients reveals the existence of massive injuries and difficult doctor-surgical solution an indication to consider he is eutanasia.

The terminal stages of some diseases like Cardiac Insufficiency Congestiva; Renal insufficiency; Neoplasias (cancer) Primarias or Metastásicas; Alterations Cerebrales and Medulares; Diseases Hepáticas and Metabólicas; they produce alterations that slowly are undermining the health of the animalito and they take it without haste but without pause to the death with his important and inmensurable dose of suffering. In these cases eutanasia is also just.

Who is authorized to make the decision to let die to a terminal patient without its process extends unnecessarily to die?

In agreement with the order of the nature, so straight it corresponds to which must have to take care of of the animal. Such are the members of the family; this right does not belong less to the public authorities and to the veterinarian, since the mascots are not property of the State nor of the professional that guards by its health.

Position of the church: In a Message of His Sanctity Pío XII, directed to a group of anestesiólogos the 24 of November of 1957 it made emphasis in the right that attends all human being to die with dignity (the animals must and can have he himself right). It was used the used terms then of average extraordinary ordinary and, and taught with success that does not exist obligation to use extraordinary means to conserve the life.

The western tradition and the philosophy theist have been demonstrated against the caused death. The main reason in please this position is the one that God puts the direct dominion on the life. We are administrators of our own life but not its proprietors. Perhaps although this argument is valid with base in a philosophy theist, does not convince to all world, perhaps not even to the believers.

Nevertheless, the discussion follows open?

Author: MV Adelaida A. Goldman
www.mascotia.com/oncologia
agoldman@mascotia.com

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