The Problem of the Conscience Clause of Healthcare Professionals in Italy in the Years 2017-2020

• Authors: Andrzej Kobyliński

Title variants

IT

The Problem of the Conscience Clause of Healthcare Professionals in Italy in the Years 2017-2020

PL

Problem klauzuli sumienia pracowników służby zdrowia we Włoszech w latach 2017-2020

RU

The Problem of the Conscience Clause of Healthcare Professionals in Italy in the Years 2017-2020

• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

RU

The main goal of the article is to analyse the key elements of the living will in Italy and present the dispute regarding the understanding of the conscience clause of healthcare professionals. In the country on the Tiber, a law on the living will was passed in 2017. A living will consists in the anticipatory expression of ‘will’, by an adult or legal guardian acting in full possession of their mental faculties, concerning the possible administration or discontinuation of certain medical therapies in the future. The conscience clause, on the other hand, means the right to refuse to take such actions, which a particular person considers to be contrary to their personal convictions. The Italian law on the living will does not contain a provision on the conscience clause. For this reason, an ethical and legal problem arose for healthcare professionals, who refused to comply with the wishes of their patients for moral or religious reasons, for example by discontinuing artificial hydration or nutrition,  thus, leading to the patient’s death. The ethical and legal dispute in Italy is part of a contemporary global debate on conscience clauses, euthanasia, assisted suicide, human rights, and the dignity of human life. Analyses have shown that healthcare professionals should be guaranteed the right, not to perform such medical procedures, which are contrary to their moral and religious convictions.

PL

Głównym celem artykułu jest analiza najważniejszych elementów testamentu życia we Włoszech oraz prezentacja sporu dotyczącego klauzuli sumienia pracowników służby zdrowia. W kraju nad Tybrem ustawa dotycząca testamentu życia została uchwalona w 2017 r. Testament życia polega na antycypującym wyrażeniu woli przez osobę pełnoletnią lub opiekuna prawnego, dokonanym w warunkach pełnej przytomności umysłowej, dotyczącym ewentualnego podjęcia lub zaniechania w przyszłości różnego rodzaju terapii medycznych. Z kolei klauzula sumienia oznacza prawo do odmowy podjęcia tych działań, które konkretny człowiek uznaje za niezgodne z własnymi przekonaniami światopoglądowymi. Włoska ustawa o testamencie życia nie zawiera zapisu o klauzuli sumienia. Z tego powodu powstał problem etyczno-prawny dotyczący personelu medycznego, który z racji moralnych czy religijnych nie chce spełniać życzenia pacjentów, aby zaprzestać m.in. sztucznego nawadniania i karmienia, doprowadzając w ten sposób do ich śmierci. Włoski spór etyczno-prawny stanowi część współczesnej debaty o charakterze globalnym, dotyczącej klauzuli sumienia, eutanazji, samobójstwa wspomaganego, praw człowieka i godności życia ludzkiego. Przeprowadzone analizy wykazały, że pracownicy służby zdrowia powinni mieć zagwarantowane prawo do niepodejmowania tych zabiegów medycznych, które są sprzeczne z ich przekonaniami moralnymi i religijnymi.

IT

The main goal of the article is to analyse the key elements of the living will in Italy and present the dispute regarding the understanding of the conscience clause of healthcare professionals. In the country on the Tiber, a law on the living will was passed in 2017. A living will consists in the anticipatory expression of ‘will’, by an adult or legal guardian acting in full possession of their mental faculties, concerning the possible administration or discontinuation of certain medical therapies in the future. The conscience clause, on the other hand, means the right to refuse to take such actions, which a particular person considers to be contrary to their personal convictions. The Italian law on the living will does not contain a provision on the conscience clause. For this reason, an ethical and legal problem arose for healthcare professionals, who refused to comply with the wishes of their patients for moral or religious reasons, for example by discontinuing artificial hydration or nutrition,  thus, leading to the patient’s death. The ethical and legal dispute in Italy is part of a contemporary global debate on conscience clauses, euthanasia, assisted suicide, human rights, and the dignity of human life. Analyses have shown that healthcare professionals should be guaranteed the right, not to perform such medical procedures, which are contrary to their moral and religious convictions.

Keywords

EN

living will; conscience clause; human rights; euthanasia; assisted suicide

IT

living will; conscience clause; human rights; euthanasia; assisted suicide; living will; conscience clause; human rights; euthanasia; assisted suicide

RU

living will; conscience clause; human rights; euthanasia; assisted suicide

PL

testament życia; klauzula sumienia; prawa człowieka; eutanazja; samobójstwo wspomagane; testament życia; klauzula sumienia; prawa człowieka; eutanazja; samobójstwo wspomagane

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie
• Journal: Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae
• Year: 2020
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 37-46

Dates

published

2020-09-30

Contributors

author

Andrzej Kobyliński

References

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Identifiers

DOI

10.21697/seb.2020.18.3.05