Biomedical and Moral-Ethical Aspects of Dysthanasia. In the Agony of Dying before the Medical Futility

U članku se nastoje prikazati moralno-bio-etičke, medicinske i pravne dileme biomedicinskoga progresa koji je svojim zapanjujućim tehnološkim razvojem potaknuo brojne nedoumice vezane uz mogućnosti ne/ograničene prolongacije finalne faze čovjekova života. Napredak medicinske skrbi terminalnih bolesnika omogućio je da njihovo održavanje na životu može trajati relativno dugo, no sve je uočljivija besmislenost takvih zahvata, napose u situacijama koje obilježava nesnosna i bolna agonija dugotrajnoga umiranja i postupnoga otkazivanja svih životnih funkcija umiruće osobe, čiji se život postupno gasi, ali se zahvatima agresivno-intenzivne terapeutske upornosti prisiljava na fiziološko održavanje. Iz tih razloga, ovaj rad pokušava prikazati bioetičke smjernice i kriterije distanazijskih zahvata koje bi orijentirale kliničku intervenciju primjenom principa «medicinske beskorisnosti» iz profesionalnoga medicinskog kuta; iz pravne perspektive i sa stajališta kršćanskoga morala, kako bi njihova integracija imala stručan i humani odjek u pokušajima humaniziranja posljednjih životnih trenutaka.The paper aims to present moral-bio-ethical, medical and legal dilemmas of biomedical progress which has with its amazing technological development prompted numerous concerns about the capabilities of un/limited prolongation of the final stage of human life. The progress in medical care for terminal patients has made it possible to keep them alive for a relatively long time, but all the more apparent is the absurdity of such interventions, especially in situations marked by painful and unbearable agony of prolonged process dying and gradual cancellation of all life functions of a dying person, whose life is gradually fading away, but with interventions of aggressive-intensive therapeutic persistence they are forced to a physiological life-support. For these reasons, the aim of this paper is to present the bioethical guidelines and criteria for dysthanasia procedures that would orient the clinical intervention by applying the principles of "medical futility" from a professional medical angle; from a legal perspective and from the standpoint of Christian morality, in order for their integration to resonate professionally and humanely in the attempts of humanizing the final moments of life