By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
A Seoul court's ruling to allow the removal of a feeding tube from a terminally-ill 75-year-old woman and have her ventilator switched off is expected to trigger even more debate, as many are seeking to file similar requests for ``death with dignity.''
The ruling is expected to give support to those seeking to legalize the measure.
There are several related bills pending at the National Assembly. Rep. Kim Choong-whan of the ruling Grand National Party submitted one this month allowing those suffering from terminal cancer or other serious illnesses to opt for hospice services to prepare for death without undergoing ``meaningless and excessive'' treatment.
The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs is already subsidizing several such facilities, but stressed they were to provide death with dignity, allowing someone to die naturally without enduring meaningless pain, not euthanasia.
Some doctors and patients are calling for DNR ― do not resuscitate ― rights with regard to cardiac arrests to be adopted.
According to a study by Prof. Son Myung-se of Yonsei University Severance Hospital, 84.9 percent of patients and 95 percent of patient's families approached wanted DNR rights. Some are calling for its adoption as part of the right to make one's own decisions.
Various sectors in society also support death with dignity ― the Catholic Church has its own principal from the Vatican. ``Extending painful treatment just to extend the time waiting for death is meaningless,'' Park Jung-woo, spokesman for the Life and Ethics Committee at the Archdiocese of Seoul, said.
The Church runs several hospice facilities helping patients prepare for death and overcome fear through religious services and non-medical means.
Choo Soo-ho, president of the Korean Medical Association, also welcomed the ruling. ``Doctors have always felt we need to draw the line between euthanasia and death with dignity. We do not seek to give up the treatment of difficult patients, leading to euthanasia. We are referring to those without any hope and just pain and dread left,'' he said.
Discussions over death with dignity are already active in many parts of the world. About 40 states in the United States allow such measures following a family and medical consensus.
The Netherlands, Belgium and Taiwan not only allow death with dignity but also euthanasia in limited cases.
On the other hand, Australia scrapped its law allowing euthanasia only six months after its implementation in 1996. France and Germany still strictly prohibit it. Under German law, those who actively contribute to ending a person's life through medical means can be subject to life in prison.
Opponents here say that death with dignity could be abused ― euthanasia could be performed in order to save medical fees or prevent mild pain.
Shin Hyun-ho, the lawyer for the woman's family, also admitted the possibility of abuse of the system. ``In extreme cases, it could be used by children to abandon their sick parents,'' he said.
Therefore, Shin, a medical law expert, suggested a joint committee of government officials, religious leaders, and medical and legal experts to screen cases. ``It is not assisted suicide or killing someone. It is helping someone die with self-respect and peace,'' he said.
He added that most people support the idea. ``According to a survey, about 80 percent of people said death with dignity is necessary. It will be a matter of how to deliberate the idea, not whether to allow it or not,'' he said.