Resumen

BARRETO VAQUERO, Dimitri. Reflection on a public health problem. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2004, vol.30, n.1, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3127.

The paper describes how the term euthanasia has served in the course of history to refer to an endless number of concepts related with death, however, this term has moved away from the original concept and even has meant all the opposite to what it etymologically describes. Ambiguity is the distinctive sing of the term and the concept of euthanasia in our times. It is emphasized that when man assesses the dignity of his life, he will assess also the right of each human being to die with dignity, which is the real meaning of euthanasia given by the Greek culture. If euthanasia is understood in this way, then it constitutes an unavoidable ethical demand. It is concluded that the act of dying should be assumed as a transcendental moment in the life of the person, the family and the social group and that for dignifying death, it is essential to firstly dignify the life of each person by offering him/her all the necessary conditions that lead to full enjoyment of life because “all the length of time that we are living, we are taking it away from life

Palabras clave : EUTHANASIA; DEATH; PUBLIC HEALTH.