title: [Euthanasia and physician assisted suicide: what is the problem?].
abstract: Some persons with refractory and unbearable suffering caused by an illness or medical condition wish to die by euthanasia or physician assisted suicide in order to have a certain and painless death. Physicians who agree to help a patient to die have previously confirmed that his/her illness cannot be cured, his/her suffering cannot be relieved and he/ she is of sound mind. Being well informed of his/her condition, the patient arrives to the conclusion that in his/her situation being death is better that being alive. How to explain that there are very few places in which physicians are allowed to help their patients to die? The main arguments against legalizing physician-assisted death are analyzed in this article.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
authors.forename: Asunción
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Álvarez-Del Río
mesh_terms: D001293:Attitude to Death; D005065:Euthanasia / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D017236:Suicide, Assisted / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*