The availability of new therapeutic options for numerous diseases make it now possible to prolong the life of those who suffer from pathological processes that, not too long ago, rapidly lead to death.
Throughout history and also in today’s society, there is an ongoing ethical debate of which our profession is acutely aware of.
The objective of this paper is to bring us to a better assessment of society’s position and point of view towards euthanasia.
The sample was studied between September 2002 and June 2003 and is composed of 241 subjects aged between 16 and 80 years, who were selected from the population of different towns in the region of Valencia.
According to the data gathered, the majority of the population is in favor of euthanasia and is able to define the term (175 were in favor, 49 were against and 17 did not state an opinion or did not know) as a “way to terminate the suffering when this suffering has no solution”.