Ethical dilemmas in the death of children

DOI: 10.15343/0104-7809.20123611126

Abstract

The death of children is a topic that rarely figures as the focus of studies in the field of thanatology. With the increasing
effort of deconstruction of the taboo of death, one sees an opportunity for further studies including parental grief (grief of
parents who lose children). The aim of this study was to investigate ethical dilemmas which bereaved parents faced before
the death of their children. The information was taken from a previous study of the author, who interviewed 24 bereaved
parents aged from 26 to 71 years, both male and female: 18 women and 6 men, who had lost children aged from 5 to 38
years due to various causes, such as illnesses, accidents, murder and suicide. Participants were interviewed and asked to
narrate what had happened from the moment of death of their children and everything else that followed the fact. It was
possible to highlight information of three main themes: the ethical dilemmas caused by the circumstances of death (murder,
suicide, illness and traffic accidents), dilemmas arising in the period of experiencing grief (in an amalgam of feelings,
self-blame stood out) and other dilemmas regarding the quality of social support received in the bereaved setting (in some
instances, extremely inappropriate ones). The content raised may provide useful information for effective interventions to
be offered to bereaved parents.