The Health Ministry said Sunday that it would relax regulations on ending unnecessary life-prolonging treatment to help patients better prepare for their death, starting March 28.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that it will revise the law on stopping life-sustaining treatment to allow ending such treatment when the spouse, parents and children agree to it.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare.(Yonhap)
Under the current law, one of four conditions must be met for treatment aimed at prolonging the life of terminally ill patients to be ended. They are: A patient signed a form expressing his wish not to receive life-prolonging treatment while in good health; a terminally ill patient or patient near death gives written consent; the patient previously expressed a wish not to receive such treatment to at least two members of the family; or all family members, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren give consent.
The law on hospice and palliative care and decisions on life-sustaining treatment for patients facing death was enacted in February.
As of Oct. 3, 20,742 patients ended life-sustaining treatment under the law, but only 0.7 percent of the patients said to signed the statement in advance while they were in good health.
Thirty-three of the patients signed the letter of consent while the decision to end life-sustaining treatment was made by family members in 66.3 percent of the patients.
(kairos07@heraldcorp.com)
