The Euthanasia Act: A Law Founded on Dignity

Abstract

The passing of the Euthanasia Act supposes a very important step in the Spanish legal system towards individual autonomy acknowledgment, according to the concept of dignity. The Euthanasia Act is not (just) a statute against criminalization —in that case, it would be unsatisfactory—, but a regulatory legal framework which involve to the Social and Democratic State, in order to provide citizens the satisfaction of a basic necessity, requested and required at the same time. This paper analyses the procedure developed in the Act, suggesting the necessity of avoiding some interpretations and undesirable consequences of it. However, this work is critical with the reform of the Criminal Code introduced by means of the Euthanasia Act. Even so, some aspects regarding dignity and freewill acknowledgment are not completely ensured according to the content of the Act.