[Early treatment directives: some considerations]

In a traditional social setting, the entire family was involved when one of its members died; nowadays, this event has been transformed into a private affair. Medicine has alienated us at a time of family intimacy and death has become institutionalized in either a hospital or hospice environment. In a society whose values are changing , is it possible to restore respect and dignity to the final moments of life?. Sometimes life can be shortened or prolonged depending on the opinion of the medical staff, the equipment available in the hospital, the economic status of the family and their country of residence. How far should cure be taken when cure means forcing life to continue regardless of its quality : who chooses how and when to die?. Death is an inevitable aspect of human life and the medical community must accept this as part of their mission. Although intensive care is a precious tool, it may lead to paradoxal situations in which it is difficult to identify the exact moment when a human being becomes a corpse . When death is inevitable , it is no longer possibile to choose between life and death: the only choice left is how the patient chooses to die. The biological testament will be able to answer some of these questions and provide information making it possible to agree to or refuse further medical treatment.In the second part of this paper, that will be published later, the opinions of young people on this topic are will be reported together with those of the nurses whose institutional role is to divulge the necessary information.