Abstract

Is human dignity an intrinsic value, or a relative value particularly associated with the notion of “quality of life”? In contemporary bioethics, the term “dignity” has become a kind of slogan. All major trends in public opinion refer to it, sometimes, paradoxically, in order to justify strongly opposed positions. For example, in France, the “Association for the Right to Die with Dignity”1 uses dignity to demand the legalization of euthanasia, whereas the promoters of palliative care support the concept specifically to reject this legalization.