ETHICAL, RELIGIOUS AND LEGAL ARGUMENTS IN THE
CURRENT DEBATE OVER EUTHANASIA IN SPAIN
ETHICAL, RELIGIOUS AND LEGAL ARGUMENTS IN THE CURRENT DEBATE OVER EUTHANASIA IN SPAIN
Author(s): Isabel Tamarit, Juan Carlos Siurana, Lidia De TiendaSubject(s): Philosophy
Published by: SAV - Slovenská akadémia vied - Slovenská Akadémia Vied - Kabinet výskumu sociálnej komunikácie
Keywords: radical democracy; euthanasia; ethical arguments; religious arguments; legal arguments; Spain; Europe
Summary/Abstract: In the last ten years, there have been several cases in Spain (Ramón Sampedro, Leganés, Jorge León that have led to an intense social debate on euthanasia. The recent case of Inmaculada Echevarría, a woman suffering from a serious disease that kept her immobilized in bed, has revived the debate on euthanasia in Spain. On 18 October 2006 she held a press conference and publicly asked to be disconnected from the ventilator that kept her alive. After a long ethical, religious, legal, and social debate, the patient was disconnected on 14 March 2007 after being adequately sedated. As a consequence, the patient died. In our paper we defend the need for a radical and intercultural democracy and present the main ethical, religious and legal arguments on euthanasia that are being posed in Spain and in Europe as a debate that should help to build a radical and intercultural democracy at a European level.
Journal: Human Affairs
- Issue Year: 2008
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 52-66
- Page Count: 15
- Language: English
