The Right to Die in Dignity and Comfort

Im, Jung Gi

Abstract

The right to die in dignity and comfort is one of the gravest concerns due to the ever-increasing number of patients with incapacitating illnesses who experience a prolonged painful death, and to the modern trend to place an emphasis on the improvement of quality of life whenever possible. According to the guidelines issued by the Korean Medical Association in 2002, in cases of incurable illnesses, such as terminal stage cancer, meaningless life-maintaining management may be terminated to allow patients to die with dignity. However, the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare maintains the stance that such guidelines overtly support the institutionalization of "passive euthanasia", and that those who follow such guidelines should be charged with murder, in accordance with the requirements of the existing Korean law. Given that, any one of us may be confronted with such a miserable death, we all have a compelling interest in the revision of the existing legislation, perhaps by using the "U.S. Living Will Registry" as a model.