Asunción Álvarez Del Río, Fabiola Orihuela-Cortés, Ma Del Pilar Santacruz-Ortega, Ma Luisa Marván
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Should people be able to have access to medical assistance in dying to avoid living with Alzheimer's? Opinions from Mexico and Colombia.
Growing population aging is accompanied by a growing fear of suffering dementia. Four hundred and thirty-six Mexican and Colombian adults completed a survey about their opinion on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) for patients with dementia, both in the early stage of the disease and in the advanced stage through an advance directive. In Colombia, MAID is allowed while in Mexico it is banned. The main reasons given by those who agreed with MAID were "right to decide" and "avoiding suffering." Religious beliefs were the main reason for disagreeing. More Mexicans than Colombians agreed with MAID possibly because Mexicans showed a lower degree of religiosity, and also possibly because there are religious movements against euthanasia in Colombia. The results were discussed considering the current debate about MAID in cases of dementia in general, and about requesting it through an advance directive for patients in the advanced stage of the disease.
期刊介绍:
Developing World Bioethics provides long needed case studies, teaching materials, news in brief, and legal backgrounds to bioethics scholars and students in developing and developed countries alike. This companion journal to Bioethics also features high-quality peer reviewed original articles. It is edited by well-known bioethicists who are working in developing countries, yet it will also be open to contributions and commentary from developed countries'' authors.
Developing World Bioethics is the only journal in the field dedicated exclusively to developing countries'' bioethics issues. The journal is an essential resource for all those concerned about bioethical issues in the developing world. Members of Ethics Committees in developing countries will highly value a special section dedicated to their work.