存在於人之自然本性內的臨終關懷

The Immanent Human Nature toward Hospice

蕭宏恩(Hung-En Hsiao)

《台灣醫學人文學刊》 8卷1&2期 (2007/07) Pp. 37-49

https://doi.org/10.30097/FJMH.200707.0005

摘要

簡單地說，自然道德律正是印記在人之天生稟賦中自然本性的律則。人依其存在之本性而朝向圓滿生命與純粹至善。在如此的基礎之上，面對生死抉擇的道德省思與判斷，並訴諸道德實踐以成就道德價值，所依循的正是人性本然之善以及趨向純粹至善的追求。問題是：面對臨終病人，所言基於「善」而予以安寧療護，是否即是人之自然本性（自然道德律）之要求？「安樂死」難道違背了人性之本然？「安樂死」與「臨終關懷」是否可能基於人性而相形不悖？因為基於醫療人員之職責「促進健康、預防疾病、維持健康、減輕痛苦」，面對臨終病人似乎成為不可能？「安樂死」似乎成了唯一出路？
本文企望由普遍存在於人性之內「應當行善戒惡」的自然道德律則，推演出對臨終病人的安寧療護正是人之自然本性內的要求，以確立臨終關懷於醫療行善之穩固基礎。

關鍵字

自然道德律 ； 自然本性 ； 安樂死 ； 安寧療護 ； 臨終關懷

並列摘要

Simply speaking, Natural Law is precisely the law which imprints on human nature that a person is endowed with. Accordingly, man is naturally to be living satisfactorily and being absolutely pure good. On such a ground, it is exactly to comply with the pursuing of the good of real nature and tending the absolutely pure good when we face the moral reflection and judgment of the choice of life and death, appealing to moral practice in order to achieve moral values. But, we must ask that we take the incurable patients with hospice whether it is exactly the request of real nature (Natural Law) or not when we claim it is according to the good? Is it possible that euthanasia is contrary to the real nature of man? Do euthanasia and caring for the incurable patients disagree on account of human nature or not? It is in view of the duties of medical personnel in promoting health, preventing disease, preserving health and mitigating suffering that it seems impossible to face incurable patients. Euthanasia seems to become the only way to treat the incurable.
This paper looks forward to deduce that hospice is exactly the request of human in nature to incurable patients from the Natural Law of doing good and avoiding evil that is immanent in human nature, in order to establish firmly the stable foundation of doing good in medicine of caring the incurable patients.

並列關鍵字

Natural Law ； the real nature ； euthanasia ； hospice ； caring the incurable patients