Paolo Becchi

In this paper the author tries to approach the subject of death from a law and ethics perspective. The idea is that modern works in law and ethics that have studied two of the main topics of bio-ethics (euthanasia and organ transplants) still leave unresolved two main problems. The first problem is with the idea many authors have of defending the possibility of active euthanasia and consider it an obvious matter that doctors have to practice this type of euthanasia. But we have good reasons to consider that doctors are the ones that have to abstain from this practice. The second is- sue is with the defense of the possibility of post mortem transplants and how this practice is also considered obvious due to the fact that the person from whom these organs are withdrawn is dead. Here we also have good reasons according to the author for considering that the person from whom these organs are withdrawn is not dead. The author finally tries to establish a link between these two unresolved problems.Resumen:En las siguientes páginas el autor intenta un acercamiento a la cuestión de la muerte desde una perspectiva ética y jurídica. La idea fundamental que guía este trabajo es que la ética y el derecho modernos que se han ocupado de los dos temas bioéticos cruciales relativos al fin de la vida (la eutanasia y el trasplante de órganos) hace que surjan dos problemas de fondo que comúnmente se consideran resueltos y que, de acuerdo con el autor, no lo están. El primero es que algunos estudiosos sostienen la licitud de la eutanasia activa y consideran del todo obvio que sea el médico quien la lleve a cabo. Sin embargo, existen buenas razones para considerar que es precisamente el médico quien debería abstenerse de practicar- la. El segundo es que hay otros que sostienen la licitud de los trasplantes post mortem y consideran también obvio que el sujeto del cual se toman los órganos sea ya un cadáver. En cambio existen buenas razones para considerar que actualmente cuando toman dichos órganos aún no están muertos. El autor sostiene que si así fuera, el tema de los tras- plantes presentaría un insospechado punto de contacto con el de la eutanasia. El desarrollo del trabajo, en primer lugar se detiene en el problema de la eutanasia, posteriormente en el del trasplante de órganos donde se busca finalmente evidenciar el punto de contacto entre las dos problemáticas.

This handbook provides a systematic overview of the legal concept and the meaning of human dignity for each European state and the European Union. For each of these 43 countries and the EU, it scrutinizes three main aspects: the constitution, legislation, and application of law. The book addresses and presents answers to important questions relating to the concept of human dignity. These questions include the following: What is the meaning of human dignity? What is the legal status of the respective human dignity norms? Are human dignity norms of a programmatic nature, or do they establish an individual right which can be invoked before court? Is human dignity inviolable? The volume answers these questions from the perspectives of all European countries. As a reaction to the barbaric events during World War II, human dignity found its way into international law. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “[a]ll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The starting point for developing the concept on a national level was the codification of human dignity in article 1, paragraph 1 of the German Grundgesetz. Consequently, the concept of human dignity spread throughout Europe and, in the context of human rights, became a fundamental legal concept.

This contribution gives an overview of the introduction and development of the idea of human dignity by means of historical and conceptual reconstruction. The development of the term began in antiquity and Christianity as an incentive for asserting the universalist dimension to human dignity, particularly with regard to the listing in the USA and France in the eighteenth century. There is also a focus on the post-Second World War debate, where the human dignity was developed into a kind of basic norm known primarily through the German definition of the inviolability of dignity. This is compared with the alternative concept in the Italian Constitution. Afterwards the new approaches from the second half of the twentieth century are discussed and combined with names like Bloch, Maihofer or Luhmann. An interim result determines the new opinion that arose. Special emphasis will be placed on the emergence of human dignity in the various conventions and charters in the twentieth century from the European Convention on Human Rights to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, passing through the Oviedo Convention. Subsequently, questions regarding the autonomy and its limits, especially under the perspective of safeguarding the image of man, for example, with regard to other species and the question of ‘speciesism’ will be discussed. Finally the question of crucial issues within medical ethics, especially the example of euthanasia, will be discussed.