https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2017.508

L'eutanasia per i neonati gravemente malati in Argentina / Euthanasia in critically ill neonates in Argentina

Vol. 66 No. 5 (2017)
Submitted: December 20, 2017
Accepted: December 20, 2017
Published: December 20, 2017
eutanasia, neonatología, processo decisionale / euthanasia, neonatology, decision-making
Abstract Views: 543
PDF (Italiano): 5
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Authors

Augustín Silberberg
agustinsilberberg@gmail.com
Departamento de Bioética, Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Marcelo J. Villar
Instituto de Investigaciòn en Medicina Traslacional, Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Belén Mesurado
CONICET, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Obiettivo: Analisi del processo decisionale per l'eutanasia nei confronti di neonati con malattie critiche in Argentina, focalizzata in particolare sui fattori socio-culturali. Metodo: Sono stati utilizzati questionari anonimi per approfondire il processo decisionale. 580 neonatologi di 36 unità neonatali sono stati invitati a partecipare allo studio e 322 di questi hanno completato il processo. Risultati: Il 95% dei neonatologi si oppone all'eutanasia. Non è emersa alcuna correlazione con l'età, il genere e la fede religiosa. Al contrario, i medici si sono dimostrati inclini all'eutanasia quando prendevano in considerazione la qualità di vita prevedibile per il bambino (p ≤ 0.003) e le difficoltà che un bambino disabile genera in una famiglia (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusioni: La maggior parte dei medici si sono opposti all'eutanasia non per motivi legali o per credenze religiose, bensí sulla base di una prospettiva trascendente della vita. La qualità della vita prevedibile per il neonato e le difficoltà che i bambini disabili generano in seno alle famiglie rappresentano motivi importanti nella decisione finale degli specialisti favorevoli all'eutanasia.
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Aim: Behavior of neonatologists in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in regard to euthanasia in critically ill neonates was analyzed, focusing on socio-cultural factors. Methods: An anonymous survey was designed to explore the decision-making process. Five-hundred-eighty neonatologists from 36 neonatal units were invited to participate and 322 completed the study. Results: Over 95% of neonatologists rejected euthanasia. No association was found with age, gender and religious belief. On the contrary, physicians were favorable to euthanasia when they took into account both the predictable quality of life (p ≤ 0.003) and the burden a disabled child would imply for the family (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: The majority of neonatologists reject euthanasia. Their behavior was not influenced legal frame, nor by their religious beliefs. They considered that a transcendence perspective of life does lead to this rejection. Predictable quality of life and the burden neonates represent for their families, played a major role on the final decision in those few specialists favorable to euthanasia.

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How to Cite

Silberberg, A., Villar, M. J., & Mesurado, B. (2017). L’eutanasia per i neonati gravemente malati in Argentina / Euthanasia in critically ill neonates in Argentina. Medicina E Morale, 66(5), 591–601. https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2017.508

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