Bioethical aspects of medically assisted death and its relationship with legal medicine: bibliographic review.

Abstract

Introduction: Euthanasia and assisted suicide are highly controversial issues in which, in addition to moral considerations, clinical, legal, political, religious and ethical considerations play an important role. Objective: to determine the bioethical aspects related to euthanasia, assisted suicide and its relationship with legal medicine. Methodology: A search was carried out in the Ibecs, Pubmed, Medline and LILACS databases on “bioethical aspects of euthanasia, assisted suicide and its relationship with forensic medicine”. The keywords were: Assisted death, Assisted suicide, Bioethics, Euthanasia and Legal medicine. Relevant articles on the subject were reviewed in English and Spanish, coming from the countries of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, India, Germany, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, Peru, Mexico, United States of America and Canada. Results: 111 articles were found; 34 were included in this review, 29 articles were found in IBECS, 12 were selected and 17 discarded. PubMed 45 articles were found, 13 were selected and 32 discarded. Medline five articles were found, one was selected and four discarded. LILACS has found 32 articles, eight selected and 24 discarded. In addition, seven additional sources are included: four books and three Honduran codes. Conclusion: The bioethical aspects related to euthanasia, assisted suicide and its relationship with legal medicine are not widely discussed topics, however, in the laws of Holland and Switzerland forensic analysis is mandatory either for its investigation or to make the decision in specific cases, attached to both bioethical and legal aspects that benefit the patient.