Department of Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Bioethics. 2019 Sep;33(7):842-848. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12615. Epub 2019 Jul 2.
The present article reviews the state of public debate and legal provisions concerning end-of-life decision-making in Italy and offers an evaluation of the moral and legal issues involved. The article further examines the content of a recent law concerning informed consent and advance treatment directives, the main court pronouncements that formed the basis for the law, and developments in the public debate and important jurisprudential acts subsequent to its approval. The moral and legal grounds for a positive evaluation of this law, which attests that the patient may withhold or withdraw from life-prolonging treatment, will be offered with reference to liberal approaches and particularly to the frameworks of care and virtue ethics; but reasons will also be offered in order to consider not only the latter but also broader range of end-of-life treatment decisions as morally apt options. In this light, we argue in favour of a further development of the Italian legislation to encompass forms of assisted suicide and active euthanasia.
本文回顾了意大利关于临终决策的公共辩论和法律规定的现状,并对所涉及的道德和法律问题进行了评估。文章进一步探讨了最近一项关于知情同意和预先治疗指示的法律的内容、构成该法律基础的主要法院判决,以及在该法律获得通过后的公共辩论和重要判例法的发展。本文将从自由主义方法,特别是关怀和美德伦理的角度,为积极评价该法律提供道德和法律依据,该法律证明患者可以拒绝或停止进行延长生命的治疗;本文还将提供理由,以便不仅考虑到后者,而且还将更广泛的临终治疗决策视为道德上合适的选择。有鉴于此,我们主张意大利立法的进一步发展,以涵盖协助自杀和主动安乐死的形式。