Pregledni rad

DYSTHANASIA AND NEWBORNS WITH SEVERE MALFORMATIONS

Aleksandra Frković

Sažetak

The introduction of new bioethical terms such as orthothanasia, misthanasia and dysthanasia testify to the dynamic development of bioethics. The term dysthanasia means excessive prolongation of the patient’s agony, suffering and death. Life can be prolonged by the administration of different drugs and application of sophisticated technology, when there is no hope for healing. Such a useless treatment brings no or less benefit to the patient and increases the suffering not only of the patient, but of his family as well. Sometimes it is very difficult to make a prognosis for the newborn’s life, in spite of the assessment of his present state and damage by a very sophisticated machines. If the therapy is not effective, the paliative care is necessary, as in any other age. According to some FIGO directions newborns with severe malformations have the right to die with dignity without any useless medical intervention, when the physicians and the parents consider it in their best interest. The Declaration of Barcelona on the Rights of Mother and Newborn states that if the fetus is born with anomalies which are incompatible with life »futile therapeutic measures should not be applied to the newly born«. The wish to make any newborn survive has become the topic of numerous bioethical discussions. These discussions can help the physicians to decide whether a medical treatment is useful or it is dysthanasia.

Ključne riječi

dysthanasia; newborns; severe malformations

Hrčak ID:

15600

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/15600

Datum izdavanja:

1.12.2004.

Podaci na drugim jezicima: hrvatski

Posjeta: 3.406 *