Carcedo has inaugurated the day of debate on euthanasia, organized by the Medical Association of Madrid.
The minister has defended "with a resounding yes" the need to regulate euthanasia. He has assured that "the human condition is inseparable from disease, pain, suffering and, finally, death" and recalled that "medical practice begins by accepting human finitude."
"The patient is the raison d'être of the health system and its professionals. It must be treated as a human being, not as a disease," he insisted. In this regard, the minister recalled that there are people who face life situations with an irreversible prognosis of death. "These are situations that have no possibility of improvement if it is not in exchange for prolonging and exacerbating the suffering," explained the minister, who said that "the Government has a duty to put itself in the place of the other."
The minister has defended "a law that recognizes a new subjective right: the right of patients to end a situation of great suffering." "Death is part of life and in the same way that we have laws that protect living in a dignified way, we must also have laws that protect a way of dying more humane and freer," he argued.
Carcedo recalled that it is "a right and not an obligation." As he explained, "a personal decision, conscious, informed, thoughtful, maintained over time and free of any pressure, whether economic, social and family."
The minister has indicated that the Spanish Constitution protects the fundamental right to life in article 15, "but not at any price." As he explained, he does not protect him at the expense of the dignity of the people included in article 10. "It is precisely the person himself who, in the exercise of his freedom and autonomy, projecting his own values and beliefs, can decide when to prolong his life goes beyond its ability to cope with suffering, "he explained.
"It is necessary to decriminalize the aid provided to die and it is necessary to legislate to preserve that the decision is autonomous, free and justified by the situation of suffering of the person," he argued.
Carcedo has advanced that the future euthanasia law should regulate the exercise of this right as a benefit within the National Health System and for this "the commitment and support of the professionals who are part of the system is essential."
"I am pleased to see the growing support for this regulation within the medical profession," he said. He has also reviewed data showing that "regulating euthanasia is also a right that citizens have long demanded." According to CIS data from 10 years ago, the legalization of euthanasia obtained the support of almost 60%. "Today that support is even greater, reaching 80%, according to several recently published surveys," he said.
The minister has pointed out that twice the euthanasia bill has been processed in Parliament and that the dissolution of the Cortes has caused it to decline. "This has meant that the hopes of citizens on this important issue have also been frustrated. I am sure that the project will be presented again for parliamentary processing," he said.
Carcedo has added that with the approval of the law, progress is being made in the humanization of the SNS, which "will guarantee the freedom and dignity of people by providing the necessary health guarantees and timely legal security."
Along with the progress in the regulation of this new right, the minister has also opted to guarantee the right and effective access to palliative care. As he explained, "the existing regional laws of dignified death are already very important," but work must continue to achieve a basic state law that extends this right. "
Finally, Carcedo has remembered those people for whom "the State was late." "I hope, desire and trust that in this term we can arrive on time, with your support and professionalism, for those who demand their right to die in a more humane and freer way," he concluded.