PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED DEATH WITH DIGNITY

[Anchor Lead]

Social demand for the right to die with dignity is rising, as more and more people want to be able to decide when to end their lives. The Korean parliament has for the first time submitted a bill on the so-called "physician-assisted death with dignity."

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Under the act stipulating the decision on life sustaining treatments, which was enacted in 2018, terminally ill patients who have given their consent in advance are allowed to forgo meaningless treatment. With social demand for death with dignity rising in recent years, the National Assembly has submitted a bill on assisted death with dignity, a more proactive form of ending one's life compared to forgoing life-sustaining treatment. The bill defines "physician-assisted death" as an act of ending one's life with the help of a physician according to the will of terminally ill patient who goes through enormous suffering and has only a slim chance of recovering. A committee headed by the minister of health and welfare and comprising of medical and ethics experts will review the matter. Rep. Ahn Gyu-baek says the bill was proposed because about 80 percent of locally surveyed adults are in favor of euthanasia and the right to decide on their lives on their own, and public interest in death with dignity keeps rising.

[Soundbite] Ahn Gyu-baek(Democratic Party) : "This bill seeks to let people suffering from severe pain to decide on their lives, even if they are not on a deathbed yet."

Assisted suicide is legal in many other countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, some Canadian provinces and some American states. However, it's a highly controversial issue worldwide. Assisted suicide is banned in the U.K. and opposed by the religious sectors including Catholics.

[Soundbite] Pope Francis(Feb., 2022) : "We can stay by a dying person's side in their final moments of life, but we must not cause their death or help them commit suicide."

Experts say rather than focusing on pros and cons, dying with dignity should be established as a social norm through policy discussions.