Brief considerations regarding the euthanasia from the points of view of ethics and the criminal law.

Abstract

The author begins his analysis by pointing out how, in the civil Western society, moral and legai principles which protect the human person basically refer to two opposite conceptions of the human being: the utilitarian one and the personalistic one. In fact the former has its roots in philosophical pragmatism, which allows for the instrumentalization of the person, whereas the personalistic anthropological vision always considers the human being as the end and never the means.The article then aims to concentrate an the instrumental or non-instrumental use of the human being regarding euthanasia, from a point of view of criminal law. After mentioning the different possible dcfinitions of euthanasia, thc article evaluates the penological and ethical implications, starting from the principle of the unavailability of human life which, according to the author, is guaranteed first of all in normative laws as the Italian Constitution and thc United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The article maintains that euthanasia is unlawful from the penological point of view and concludes by stating the reasons for the close connection between ethics and criminal law. Ali this aims to concretely guarantee the real needs and values of the human person.