“Death with Dignity” Law

[Anchor Lead]

For the last three months, Korea has implemented a new law on suspending life-extending treatment for terminally ill patients on a trial basis. Since October, 47 patients have chosen to “die with dignity.” In ten days, the law will take effect in earnest.

[Pkg]

The people who decided to stop their life-extending treatment such as artificial respiration and hemodialysis were mostly end-stage cancer patients. A woman in her 50s, who was hospitalized at a general hospital with end-stage, or metastatic, breast cancer, expressed her intent to refuse life-sustaining treatment and has recently died. A man in his 30s who lost communication skills as a symptom of end-stage liver cirrhosis also chose the path of death with dignity after all his family members consented to the decision. Since October during the trial period, 47 terminally ill patients have died because they suspended or did not begin to receive life-extending treatment. The number was fewer than what was expected. Now in ten days, the new law allowing patients to stop life prolonging treatments goes into full effect.

[Soundbite] Kwon Jun-wook(Ministry of Health & Welfare) : "A data processing system will start operating from Feb. 4 for patients to be able to view their documents of intent written earlier."

Observers say the trend won't spread quickly because there are only four treatment options that can be suspended and the law only applies to patients fighting end-stage diseases or who are nearing death.

[Soundbite] Lee Yoon-seong(Chairman, Korea Nat'l Institute for Bioethics Policy) : "All agencies share the opinion that the scope should be expanded from the current application only to patients in their final stages of sickness or nearing death."

The Health and Welfare Ministry will push for legal revisions next month to expand the scope of patient rights on the decision to end treatment.