Introduction

Dying with dignity appears to be an ambiguous concept. It is used to argue that life-ending is impermissible: deliberately hastening the end of life in this sense goes against the dignity of human life in itself and is therefore an undignified way of dying. The concept of dying with dignity is equally used by defenders of suicide, euthanasia and life-termination without the person’s request: when life has been eviscerated by a serious incurable condition, then life-termination is an option to ensure a dignified death. Life itself is then considered demeaning in those circumstances. Allowing the patient to undergo a natural death would imply allowing him to die in an undignified manner [1: P. Valadier. La dignità della persona e i diritti umani. In: Gerardi R, editor. La legge morale naturale Problemi e prospettive, Roma: Lateran University Press; 2007, 113-137.].

In any case, it is difficult to talk about dying with dignity without also talking about living with dignity at the same time. This is so not only because a large number of people see in what qualifies as an unworthy life a reason to qualify euthanasia as a dignified death under those circumstances, but mainly because a dying human being is also a (still) living human being.