Doré J
Faculté de Théologie et de Sciences Religieuses, l'Institut Catholique de Paris.
Bull Acad Natl Med. 1999;183(5):919-27.
Is there any sense in wondering if one can "die a good death" Indeed, the word "euthanasia" as such offers food for thought. Obviously, human beings must die. The only real question is: Can help and assistance be given (through others) to a person when facing this ineluctable issue; and, if so, in which way and how far? To make things clearer, two points may be taken into consideration. On the one hand, it is a fact that the roman-catholic tradition has been able to set up a practice of a "good death piety", or even a "good death pastoral". But, on the other hand, we must not forget that when we consider what "euthanasia" means for the end of life and bear in mind what "eugenism" means for the beginning of life as well as the way it has been used, then it can only put us on the alert for possible serious abuse.... Considering all this, the question may be put as follows: not: is it possible, under certain circumstances, to give someone his or her death; but: how must I help and assist a person to live his or her life to the very end, if possible up to death?
思考一个人是否能够“善终”有意义吗？的确，“安乐死”这个词本身就引人深思。显然，人必有一死。唯一真正的问题是：当面对这个不可避免的问题时，能否（通过他人）给予一个人帮助和协助？如果可以，以何种方式以及到何种程度？为了更清楚地说明问题，可以考虑两点。一方面，事实上罗马天主教传统已经能够建立起一种“善终虔诚”的做法，甚至是一种“善终牧灵关怀”。但另一方面，我们不能忘记，当我们思考“安乐死”对生命终结意味着什么，同时牢记“优生学”对生命开端意味着什么以及它被使用的方式时，那么它只会让我们警惕可能出现的严重滥用……考虑到所有这些，问题可以这样提出：不是：在某些情况下是否有可能让某人死去；而是：如果可能的话，直到死亡，我必须如何帮助和协助一个人度过他或她的一生？
