Koreans Debate End Of Life Issues

Pro-death ideas come to South Korea.

New survey will gauge public opinion on euthanasia

When doctors removed a respirator from a 76-year-old woman known only as Kim , it sparked a national debate in South Korea about choosing to die, or not, and who can make that choice.

The doctors’ decision led to a landmark Supreme Court case in 2009, the first time it had been called to rule on whether to maintain life support for a patient in a vegetative state, as Kim was at the time, although doctors at the Protestant Severance Hospital in Seoul continued to feed their patient. The court order only referred to life support for the respirator, which doctors had originally refused to turn off.

Miraculously, Kim lasted 202 more days and died in January 2010. more

South Koreans Get In On The Pro-Deather "Conversation"

Now South Korea is getting into the “conversation” about whether euthanasia is OK or not.

Seven in 10 S. Koreans favor 'passive euthanasia'

Over 70 percent of South Koreans favor euthanasia for terminal patients when life-support is deemed meaningless, a survey showed Thursday.

In the survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 72.3 percent of 1,000 respondents said they are in favor of removing life-support devices when there is little or no hope of recovery for a patient.

Nearly 70 percent of those in favor cited emotional pain to other family members as their main reason for supporting what is known as "passive euthanasia," while 60.2 percent said economic burdens were a major factor. more

Korean Oncologists Not In Favor Of Medicalized Killing

Well, at least in Korea, according to this study, cancer doctors are not too keen on assisted killing. Good for them!

Attitudes Toward End-of-life Care: A Survey Of Cancer Patients, Family Caregivers, Oncologists And Others In Korea

Attitudes toward end-of-life care for cancer patients vary, but most patients, family members, oncologists and members of the public are receptive to withdrawing futile life-sustaining treatments in people who are dying, found a Korean study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). more

Euthanasia Now Legal In S. Korea? Not So Fast . . .

Well, despite the media saying that euthanasia is now legal in South Korea, maybe not, because the law simply says that if a patient declines further treatment, and that that decision may result in death, then such a decision is legal. This, of course, is not euthanasia because any patient has the right to refuse any treatment. This is different from euthanasia, where someone else deliberately puts you to death.

S.Korean legalises euthanasia for terminally ill

SEOUL — South Korean doctors will be allowed to remove life support from terminally ill patients after confirming their wish to die, under new medical guidelines on mercy killing, officials said Wednesday. more