Dignified death, death with dignity, dying with dignity or dignity in dying is an ethical concept aimed at avoiding suffering and maintaining control and autonomy in the end-of-life process. [1] In general, it is usually treated as an extension of the concept of dignified life, in which people retain their dignity and freedom until the end of their life. [2]
Although a dignified death can be natural and occur without any type of assistance, [2] the concept is frequently associated with the right to die, [3] as well as with the defense of the legalization of practices such as voluntary euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, terminal sedation or the refusal of medical assistance. [4] According to its defenders, the possibility of these types of practices would be what would guarantee a dignified death, keeping free decisions until the last moment and avoiding unnecessary agony. [2] [5]
Jaime Fernández Reyes was a Mexican actor. Over his career, he won 3 Silver Ariel awards — the Mexican equivalent of the Oscar — including one for what is arguably his best-known role, playing Friday, the protagonist's associate in Luis Buñuel's Robinson Crusoe. He appeared in over 200 films and served as the general secretary of the National Association of Actors (ANDA) for 11 years. His father was actor/director Emilio Fernández.
Francisco Ayala García-Duarte was a Spanish writer, the last representative of the Generation of '27.
Digna... hasta el último aliento is a Mexican film released in 2003.
Narciso Ibáñez Menta was a Spanish theatre, film, and television actor.
The World Federation of Right to Die Societies is an international federation of associations that promote access to voluntary euthanasia. It holds regular international meetings on dying and death.
Quilapayún Chante Neruda is a compilation music album released by Quilapayún in exile in France in 1983 in commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the death of the Chilean poet and Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda – who died in September 1973.
The legality of euthanasia varies between countries and territories. Efforts to change government policies on euthanasia of humans in the 20th and 21st centuries have met with limited success in Western countries. Human euthanasia policies have also been developed by a variety of NGOs, most advocacy organisations although medical associations express a range of perspectives, and supporters of palliative care broadly oppose euthanasia.
María Ofelia Villenave Garza, known as Fernanda Villeli, was a Mexican writer and activist, who was one of the major writers of telenovelas in Mexico. She wrote for series such as Aprendiendo a amar (1980), Extraños caminos del amor (1981), El maleficio (1983), La traición (1984), Lo blanco y lo negro (1989), Al filo de la muerte (1991) and El diario de Daniela (1998/99).
Assisted suicide, while criminal does not appear to have caused any convictions. Although a person who has assisted with the suicide must appear in court, article 37 of the Penal Code states: "The judges are authorized to forego [sic] punishment of a person whose previous life has been honorable where he commits a homicide motivated by compassion, induced by repeated requests of the victim." Whilst not de jure permitting the act, it has been interpreted to mean that judges may pardon the defendant of their crime, and so de facto authorising assisted suicide.
Adriana Roel was a Mexican actress from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Her roles included the Mexican telenovela Huracán.
Manuel Dondé was a Mexican film actor. He frequently played villains during his long film career.
Luis Montes Mieza, was a Spanish anesthetist and pro-euthanasia activist. He was the Federal President of the association "Derecho a Morir Dignamente" from 2009 till his death.
María Eugenia Rodríguez Palop is a Spanish jurist, professor of Philosophy of Law at the Charles III University of Madrid (UC3M), specializing in human rights.
Diana Helena Maffía is an Argentine academic and politician.
José María Lassalle Ruiz is a Spanish lecturer, essayist and former politician.
Euthanasia in Spain has been legal since 25 June 2021, when the Organic Law for the Regulation of Euthanasia came into force, three months after its publication in the Boletín Oficial del Estado, after being approved by the Cortes Generales on 18 March 2021. Said law decriminalizes medical aid to die and specifies who, when and with what requirements it may be provided. With its approval, Spain became the sixth state in the world to recognize nationwide the right to euthanasia. Between June 2021 and December 2022, there have been an estimated 370 cases of euthanasia deaths.
Ana Milagros Estrada Ugarte was a Peruvian psychologist and right to die activist.
Nubes grises soplan sobre el campo verde is a 2023 Colombian drama film written and directed by Carlos R. Lopez Parra in his directorial debut. It is about a father looking for a caregiver to care for his son with cerebral palsy after his eventual death from terminal cancer. It stars Germán Betancourt and Jonathan Camero.
Paola Roldán Espinosa was an Ecuadorian businesswoman and philanthropist, known for having achieved the decriminalization of euthanasia in Ecuador, after suffering from ALS.