In a week in which the legalization of euthanasia is being discussed in the Assembly of the Republic, Visão magazine recovered the results of a study by CINTESIS and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP) that showed the percentage of doctors who agreed with early death in certain circumstances. This investigation indicates that 55% of doctors are in favor of decriminalization.
“There is a generational shift. Today, many doctors, especially the younger ones, are more receptive to the autonomy and the issue of patient’s suffering, while part of an older generation remains faithful to a Judeo-Christian tradition”, notes Miguel Ricou, CINTESIS researcher and professor at FMUP, in an interview.
Miguel Ricou is also chairman of the Ethical Commission of the Portuguese Association of Psychologists and also coordinates the European Platform Wish to Die, whose objective is to study the topic as deeply as possible.