TEDxBA: Death as a constitutive part of life

By Ana Patiño,

BuenosAiresHerald.com staff.-

Doctor Hugo Dopaso made his way through the TEDx Buenos Aires and cast a positive light on death by urging people not to be afraid of it, but to accept it as part of our life. He also praised the Dignified Death draft bill being discussed in Congress, assuring that it is a “huge step for society.”

The doctor and psychiatrist explained to the BuenosAiresHerald.com how he has learned about his own experiences with death - the loss of his mother, aunt, nephew, father and brother - and assured that he has managed to understand and “accept moments of extreme sadness, instead of fighting them.”

In his learning, he discovered that he wanted to “fulfil his role as a therapist and accompany the patient through the end of his life.” That is why he assists his patients through this special period with a particular method: he does not encourage the person to fight against death as most of the doctors do, but helps them accept it so they can try and spend what is left of their lives in a calm environment.

“The human being moves towards death, it has come to this world and will have to leave it someday. Death is a constitutive part of life, it is present since the moment we arrive in this world and it develops as we grow up to finally die, which is a constitutive fact of the human nature,” he assured.

Dopaso admits it is easier to understand death as an enemy, but states that the best way to accept it is not through fighting against it. “We work with those patients who are healthy and are able to understand this, it makes no sense to do it with those who already are in their last days because they wouldn’t understand how to do it.”

His main goal is to allow the patient to be relaxed, so he can analyze his life, his achievements and be prepared for death.

Regarding the Dignified Death law that has already been preliminary approved by the Lower House of Congress, he assured that it is a huge step because “it shows that society is already prepared, willing to see things in another way, and wanting to see if it’s possible to avoid dying this way, in which death seems to be a defeat.”

There currently is a way to guarantee a dignified death by using the “anticipated medical guidelines” which allows the lucid person who knows that they are already reaching the end of their life “to avoid the extraordinary measures applied so as to keep the body alive.” By leaving these “legal guidelines” the patient guarantees a non-painful death.

In closing, Dopaso made it clear that “we all have the right to have a dignified death,” and he “hopes the Congress can help” achieve it by passing the bill.