Health care for terminal patients: between medical practices and religious beliefs

Abstract

The new Brazilian Code of Medical Ethics, which became effective as of April 13, 2010, addresses terminal and irreversible clinical situations. In such cases, doctors are advised to provide appropriate palliative care for patients under their responsibility instead of performing unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. The Code’s process of approval is examined in this article, as well as the changes occurred in Brazil within a few decades regarding health care for clinical profiles considered as terminal or out of the therapeutic chances of cure. Although the terms orthothanasia, dysthanasia and euthanasia are not used in the new Code of Medical Ethics, they are addressed in this article together with the different points of view of religious groups on the process of dying. A “good death”, with dignity, or the production of a umanized death has received the attention of palliative aregivers, who postulate the need to provide spiritual assistance to ill patients and their families. Surveys with palliative care teams and the medical ethics new code’s text are the background for the debate over the dilemmas faced by all those practically involved in the process of dying. Finally, focus is placed on the doctor/patient/family relationship in this recent kind of care, because such interaction is intertwined with power relations, where different values and religious beliefs can be seen.