If there exists a universal feeling, it might be a fear of suffering before dying. That feeling has a basis: Many results of empirical studies show that pain relief is inadequate, particularly in the treatment of adults at the end of life and children. After a description of certain ethical issues pertaining to the inadequate management of pain, some guiding concepts taken from ethical theories, bioethics and ethics of care are presented. Marking the difference between pain relief and euthanasia, the principle of double effect is revisited. Finally, the paper focus on the importance of a global approach in the treatment of total pain or suffering. These considerations call for the moral responsibility of persons, caregivers, universities and hospitals to find and apply solutions to that humanitarian problem.