(123rf) More than 8 out of 10 South Koreans say the country should legalize physician-aided death of terminal patients, with over 90 percent saying that they are willing to discontinue life-sustaining treatment if they became terminally ill, a survey by a state-run health research institute revealed Sunday.
The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs conducted a survey on 1,021 adults in April-May of last year on their perception of death, in which 82 percent of the respondents said the country should allow euthanasia.
When asked why they agree to euthanasia, 41 percent said “it is unnecessary to continue meaningless treatment,” 27 percent said “a human should have the right to decide their death,” and 19 percent said “(euthanasia) could reduce the pain of death.”
Nearly 92 percent said they are willing to not continue their lives as terminally ill patients, with 68 percent saying “sustaining life with no chance of recovery is meaningless,” and 57 percent saying “I do not want to burden my family.” Around 81 percent of the respondents said they are willing to use hospice care or pain-relieving treatment for terminal patients.
The survey showed that not feeling pain in imminent death was the most important issue for most people, as 97 percent of respondents said it was “very important to feel as little physical pain as possible when dying.” When asked what the No.1 thing in preparing for death was, 20 percent picked “not feeling pain,” 18.5 percent said “not having my family take care of my disease for a long time,” 17.5 percent said “not burdening my family financially while caring my illness,” and “having to mentally prepare for death.” Only 6 percent said their priority was “to have family and friends by my deathbed.”
As such, the most common answer for the necessary service in preparing for death was “relieving pain in the final stages of life” (63 percent), followed by “financial assistance for medical fees of terminal patients.”
Euthanasia, or deliberately ending a person’s life to reduce suffering, is illegal in South Korea and most parts of the world. Netherlands in 2002 became the first country to legalize the form of assisted dying, while Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a handful of countries have adopted laws to legalize varying levels of euthanasia.
South Korea last year introduced the first version of a bill to legalize physician-assisted death. It is a revision of the Act on Decisions on Life-sustaining Treatment for Patients in Hospice and Palliative Care or at the End of Life.
The revision states the three conditions for what it calls “assisted death with dignity.” It should only be used for terminally ill patients, the disease must accompany a severe level of pain, and the patient must explicitly express intent for the euthanasia to their attending doctor and two other physicians.
The case must then be deliberated by an ethics committee headed by the minister of health and welfare, with medical and ethics experts as members.