THE WEIGHTING PRINCIPLES IN DECISIONS OF BIOETHICAL QUESTIONS: CHALLENGENS AND POSSIBILITIES INHERENT TO EUTHANASIA

Abstract

This article discusses how the balancing of ethical principles is used in judicial decision-making in bioethical issues, specifically in cases involving euthanasia. Moreover, as a general objective, it discusses the role of ethics committees in health care in guiding and making decisions in complex cases, as well as the ethical and practical challenges faced by health professionals in the search for fair and balanced resolutions, and comments on the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. This research is justified by the constant evolution of society and by the multiculturalism that impacts bioethics and moves the judiciary, which sometimes lacks a minimum basic content for a more assertive application to a given demand. The problem arises from the construction of principles and legal grounds about which current should prevail in cases where there is, on one side, the patient's autonomy and, on the other side, the right to life. As a result, it seeks to define the emerging points on the theme and the pertinent solutions. Documentary and bibliographical research, based on books, journals and specialized sites are the methods applied to the methodology used for the article, which is hypothetical-deductive.