Euthanasia debate stems from our failure to deal with end-of-life care, says bioethics expert

The introduction of euthanasia would show a failure of humanity to deal with dying people, says bioethics expert Pierre Mallia. He spoke to Simonne Pace about a research project with a profoundly important aim: to make the end of life comfortable and pain free for everyone.

A drive to amend the law and introduce new medical guidelines could pave the way for better end-of-life care being offered in Malta, which would include a greater acceptance of death, more effective pain relief and the avoidance of over-treatment for suffering patients.

This development should come before any further discussion takes place about euthanasia, according to Pierre Mallia, who is coordinating an EU-funded research project whose aim is to find out why end-of-life care is not working well in Malta and to improve it by putting the patient first.

The Erasmus project, called EndCare, kicked off last October. It is being undertaken by the universities of Malta, Dublin and L’Aquila, together with experts from the UK and France. The coordinator is Prof. Mallia, a professor of family medicine, bioethics and patients’ rights, and chairman of the Bioethics Consultative Committee within the Health...