Debate grows over physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients

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Supporters say death with dignity; objectors call it unethical practice

By Jun Ji-hye

A debate is actively developing in Korea over the need to allow medically assisted suicide for terminally ill patients, with the majority of both the public and lawmakers having expressed their support for the measure as a means to help patients die with dignity.

Yoon Young-ho, a professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine, called on the government and the National Assembly to lead relevant discussions, citing a public opinion poll where 81 percent of 1,000 adults showed their support for physician-assisted suicide for patients suffering from severe pain.

“It is the nation's responsibility to do what it can to look after people's lives and their deaths,” Yoon said during an open forum organized by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, Wednesday.

Physician-assisted suicide involves a physician helping a patient die by suicide by providing advice about the lethal doses of drugs, prescribing or supplying the drugs.

It is slightly different from euthanasia which is performed by a physician administering fatal doses of suitable drugs to a patient.

In Korea, both physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal still.

A bill to allow physician-assisted suicide has been pending at the Assembly for more than a year since it was submitted by Rep. Ahn Gyu-back of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in June last year.

Ahn said several developed countries have already allowed the measure as a means to protect the human rights of patients.

“It is about time for Korea to discuss the issue of death with dignity,” he said.

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According to a recent survey conducted by local broadcaster KBS and local daily Seoul Shinmun, 87 out of 100 lawmakers, who responded to the survey anonymously, expressed their support for the legislation regarding the physician-assisted suicide measure. From a total of 299 lawmakers, the rest refused to respond to the survey, citing opposition from medical or religious groups, according to the newspaper.

In a separate survey conducted by the newspaper together with the Korea Society Opinion Institute in March, 81 percent out of the 1,000 adults surveyed agreed with the need to allow medically assisted suicide ― the survey that Professor Yoon referred to.

Lee Ji-hyo, a senior researcher at the Constitutional Research Institute, said that discussions about allowing patients to decide to end their lives on their own have already been underway.

“The social consensus has formed to some extent as well,” Lee said. “Still, the government should improve the medical insurance system and expand social safety nets to prevent the abuse of medically assisted suicide.”

Objectors say, however, that the measure is an unethical practice that harms human life, claiming that death cannot be a human right. They say the measure neither helps improve human rights nor benefits society.

“Physician-assisted suicide is still illegal in 39 states of the United States,” said Park Eun-ho, who heads the Catholic Institute of Bioethics. “Simply because some U.S. states have legislated the measure, it cannot be the reason for Korea to do so.”

Amid heated discussions, the human rights commission said it will carry out a survey on people's perceptions about physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia every year, beginning this year.