GESTIÓN EN SALUD PÚBLICA: Australian senate votes down euthanasia

domingo, 19 de agosto de 2018

Australian senate votes down euthanasia

Australian senate votes down euthanasia

Bioedge

Australian Senate votes down euthanasia bill

by Xavier Symons | 18 Aug 2018 |

Australia’s senate has voted down a bill that would have allowed the country’s two territories -- the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory -- to legalise euthanasia.

The senate narrowly rejected the bill 36-34 after several days of debate, with a number of politicians who were previously undecided or in favour of the bill ultimately choosing to vote against it.

The bill was sponsored by an independent, Senator David Leyonhjelm, and was widely supported by the Australian Labor Party senators and senators from smaller parties. Most members of the government, however, opposed the legislation.

If successful, the bill would have overturned the Euthanasia Laws Act 1997, a law that removed the power of the ACT and Northern Territory to legislate on euthanasia. That law was introduced in response to the Northern Territory’s legalisation of euthanasia in 1995.

This latest development in the Australian euthanasia debate is particularly significant, as euthanasia legislation would likely have had strong support in both the ACT and Northern Territory. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr -- who is in support of euthanasia -- criticised the parliament for rejecting the bill, and said he would continue to campaign for change:

“[we] have been let down by the parliament...but we will not give up. The restoration of territory rights will be back before the parliament soon."

Australian bioethicists weighed into the debate. Some warned of the dangers of euthanasia legislation, while others compared slippery slope concerns to “scaremongering”.

Saturday, August 18, 2018

It’s not an original thought, but with every amazing technological advance comes an unheard-of and very dangerous drawback. Smashing the atom gave us nuclear power and the atom bomb. The automobile gave us hitherto unimaginable mobility and tens of thousands of deaths on the road. The Pill gave women control over their fertility and led to birth rates so low that some countries are in danger of disappearing.

And the mobile phone? Where do we start? This week, with selfies. They give Millennials a buzz, but according to cosmetic surgeons, they also can lead to a psychological disorder which has been dubbed “Snapchat Dysmorphia”. Young women (mostly) are so used to altering their images with apps that they demand the same service from cosmetic surgeons.

“This is an alarming trend because those filtered selfies often present an unattainable look and are blurring the line of reality and fantasy for these patients,” report the authors of an article in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.

It would take a sharper mind than mine to define the problem, but our relationship with technology is problematic. We don’t foresee the problems and we can’t control our dependence. Since so much of contemporary bioethics revolves around the proper use of technology, this is something we always have to bear in mind.