The hunger strike in prison: bioethical and medico-legal insights arising from a recent opinion of the Italian national bioethics committee.
Bioethics committee
Human rights.
Hunger strike
Medico-legal issues
Prison
Prisoners
Self-determination
Journal
Medicine, health care, and philosophy
ISSN: 1572-8633
Titre abrégé: Med Health Care Philos
Pays: Netherlands
ID NLM: 9815900
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
12 Jun 2024
12 Jun 2024
Historique:
accepted:
29
05
2024
medline:
12
6
2024
pubmed:
12
6
2024
entrez:
12
6
2024
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
This contribution addresses some bioethical and medico-legal issues of the opinion formulated by the Italian National Bioethics Committee (CNB) in response to the dilemma between the State's duty to protect the life and health of the prisoner entrusted to its care and the prisoner's right to exercise his freedom of expression. The prisoner hunger strike is a form of protest frequently encountered in prison and it is a form of communication but also a language used by the prisoner in order to provoke changes in the prison condition. There are no rules in the prison regulations, nor in the laws governing the legal status of prisoners, that allow the conscious will of the capable and informed subject to be opposed and forced nutrition to be carried out. However, this can in no manner make therapeutic abandonment legitimate: the medical doctor should promote every action to support the patient. In the recent opinion formulated by the CNB it was remarked how self-determination is a central concept in human rights and refers to an individual's ability to make autonomous and free decisions about his or her life and body.
Identifiants
pubmed: 38865054
doi: 10.1007/s11019-024-10215-w
pii: 10.1007/s11019-024-10215-w
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Informations de copyright
© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.
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