Euthanasia has become the subject of ethical and political debate in many countries including Mexico. Since many physicians are deeply concerned about euthanasia, due to their crucial participation in its decision and implementation, it is important to know the psychological meaning that the term ‘euthanasia’ has for them, as well as their attitudes toward this practice. This study explores psychological meaning and attitudes toward euthanasia in 546 Mexican subjects, either medical students or physicians, who were divided into three groups: a) (...) beginning students, b) advanced students, and c) physicians. We used the semantic networks technique, which analyzed the words the participants associated with the term ‘euthanasia’. Positive psychological meaning, as well as positive attitudes, prevailed among advanced students and physicians when defining euthanasia, whereas both positive and negative psychological meaning together with more ambivalent attitudes toward euthanasia predominated in beginning students. The findings are discussed in the context of a current debate on a bill proposing active euthanasia in Mexico City. (shrink)

Growing population aging is accompanied by a growing fear of suffering dementia. Four hundred and thirty‐six Mexican and Colombian adults completed a survey about their opinion on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) for patients with dementia, both in the early stage of the disease and in the advanced stage through an advance directive. In Colombia, MAID is allowed while in Mexico it is banned. The main reasons given by those who agreed with MAID were “right to decide” and “avoiding suffering.” (...) Religious beliefs were the main reason for disagreeing. More Mexicans than Colombians agreed with MAID possibly because Mexicans showed a lower degree of religiosity, and also possibly because there are religious movements against euthanasia in Colombia. The results were discussed considering the current debate about MAID in cases of dementia in general, and about requesting it through an advance directive for patients in the advanced stage of the disease. (shrink)