[The concept of natural death today, between futility and ethical necessity. A concept for the 21st century]. / El concepto de muerte natural hoy, entre la futilidad y la necesidad ética. Un concepto para el siglo XXI.

The concept of natural death has been present in philosophical, medical and social reflection for centuries, fulfilling a double function: understanding human finitude and hoping for a desirable way to reach the end of our days. Today, those goals have been blurred by the sense of control over death that comes from the high technology of medicine, the dreams of immortality nurtured by the media, and the confusing line drawn between autonomy and dignity. This article studies the concept of natural death that in the past 20th century was the subject of debate between health workers and bioethicists and that at the beginning of this 21st century has already begun to be questioned. The ″naturalness″ of death was intended to be a kind of ethical frontier in the face of any form of violence, injustice, excessive technicalization or interference with the human will. Today, many of these aspects are blurred in a context as unnatural as he hospital one. In addition, the forensic field has also encountered serious difficulties in excluding any human, voluntary or involuntary intervention, in a large part of the deaths, since there is little natural in what we breathe, eat or drink. Based on all this, a redefinition proposal is offered that responds to a double need: the social need to integrate the inevitable mortality and the shared personal need to reach the end after a humanizing process that excludes all human responsibility. It is anthropologically possible and ethically desirable natural death.

El concepto de muerte natural hoy, entre la futilidad y la necesidad ética. Un concepto para el siglo xxi / The concept of natural death today, between futility and ethical necessity. A concept for the 21st century

El concepto de muerte natural ha estado presente en la reflexión filosófica, médica y social desde hacesiglos, cumpliendo una doble función: comprender la finitud humana y esperar un modo deseable de al-canzar el final de nuestros días. Hoy, esos objetivos han quedado desdibujados por la sensación de controlsobre la muerte que da la alta tecnificación de la medicina, los sueños de inmortalidad alimentados por losmedios y la confusa línea trazada entre la autonomía y la dignidad. En este artículo se estudia el conceptode muerte natural que en el pasado siglo XX fue objeto de debate entre sanitarios y bioeticistas y quehoy cobra un especial protagonismo. La “naturalidad” de la muerte pretendía ser una suerte de fronteraética frente a cualquier forma de violencia, injusticia, tecnificación excesiva o intromisión de la voluntadhumana. Hoy, muchos de esos aspectos quedan desdibujados en un contexto tan poco natural como es elhospitalario. Además, también el ámbito forense ha encontrado serias dificultades para excluir cualquierintervención humana, voluntaria o involuntaria en buena parte de las muertes, puesto que poco hay ya denatural en aquello que respiramos, comemos o bebemos. A partir de todo ello, se ofrece una propuesta deredefinición que responda a una doble necesidad: la necesidad social de integrar la inevitable mortalidad yla necesidad personal compartida de llegar al final tras un proceso humanizador que excluya toda respon-sabilidad humana. Es la muerte natural antropológicamente posible y éticamente deseable.(AU)

The concept of natural death has been present in philosophical, medical and social reflection for cen-turies, fulfilling a double function: understanding human finitude and hoping for a desirable way to reachthe end of our days. Today, those goals have been blurred by the sense of control over death that comesfrom the high technology of medicine, the dreams of immortality nurtured by the media, and the confu-sing line drawn between autonomy and dignity. This article studies the concept of natural death that inthe past 20th century was the subject of debate between health workers and bioethicists and that at thebeginning of this 21st century has already begun to be questioned. The “naturalness” of death was inten-ded to be a kind of ethical frontier in the face of any form of violence, injustice, excessive technicalizationor interference with the human will. Today, many of these aspects are blurred in a context as unnatural as the hospital one. In addition, the forensic field has also encountered serious difficulties in excluding anyhuman, voluntary or involuntary intervention, in a large part of the deaths, since there is little naturalin what we breathe, eat or drink. Based on all this, a redefinition proposal is offered that responds to adouble need: the social need to integrate the inevitable mortality and the shared personal need to reachthe end after a humanizing process that excludes all human responsibility. It is anthropologically possibleand ethically desirable natural death.(AU)

La mujer y el cuidado de la vida. Comprensión histórica y perspectivas de futuro / The woman and the care of life. Historical understanding and future perspectives

La mujer ha establecido una especial relación con el cuidado de la vida más vulnerable durante toda la historia de la humanidad hasta nuestros días. Siempre ha habido y hay, aunque en proporciones muy desigualmente repartidas, mujeres dedicadas al cuidado profesional y también al cuidado no remunerado domiciliario de las personas enfermas, ancianas, con alguna discapacidad, de los niños. En este estudio se ha llevado a cabo una constatación histórica y actual de esta realidad, marcando sus rasgos más característicos y significativos. Y, a partir de ahí, intenta responder a las cuestiones clave que surgen: las causas que han motivado este hecho, sus consecuencias sociales y, finalmente, las más importantes implicaciones de futuro para todos, hombres y mujeres que, tarde o temprano, seremos tanto cuidadores como necesitados de los cuidados en nuestra enfermedad

Over the ages of humanity, women has established a special relationship life care ́s with the most vulnerable. Women dedicated to the professional care have always existed, also to the unpaid home care of the sick, elderly, with some disability, and children. This study has been carried out a historical and current verification of this question, marking its most characteristic and significant features. From that perspective, we tried to answer these key questions: causes that have motivated this fact, its social consequences and, finally, the most important future implications for all, men and women that, surely, we will be caregivers and strapped for care in our illness

[The Woman and the Care of Life. Historical Understanding and Future Perspectives]. / La Mujer y el Cuidado de la Vida. Comprensión Histórica y Perspectivas de Futuro.

Over the ages of humanity, women has established a special relationship life care's with the most vulnerable. Women dedicated to the professional care have always existed, also to the unpaid home care of the sick, elderly, with some disability, and children. This study has been carried out a historical and current verification of this question, marking its most characteristic and significant features. From that perspective, we tried to answer these key questions: causes that have motivated this fact, its social consequences and, finally, the most important future implications for all, men and women that, surely, we will be caregivers and strapped for care in our illness.