After a year of court battles between the patient's family and the hospital, the Supreme Court in May recognized the patient's right to die with dignity and ordered the hospital to remove the respirator.
In one of the court's most controversial rulings to date, it approved for the first time of what professionals refer to as "passive euthanasia," saying that continued treatment violates the dignity of the patient who has virtually no hope of recovery.
The hospital decided to comply with the court order, but heated debate ensued over the criteria to be used when determining when and how death with dignity would apply.
The case of Kim, who has continued to breathe on her own for over 20 hours, has refueled the ongoing debate.
"The hospital will continue to care for her as long as she is breathing," said Lee Jae-hyuk, a spokesman for Yonsei Hospital. "We are providing nutritional treatment and water. We have found no unusual symptoms."
He added, "We, of course, respect the court ruling, but we are doing our best to keep her alive."
According to hospital guidelines, Kim had not entered the terminal stage in which a patient can choose to die with dignity after giving prior consent, the hospital said.
"The hospital believed that Kim was not about to die. That's why she is still alive," another hospital official said.
The country's Catholic community, meanwhile, expressed concerns over how Kim's case may affect the ongoing debate.
"What the court ordered was to end the meaningless medical treatment for the sake of prolonging life, not to make her die," said Prof. Lee Dong-ik of Catholic University of Korea. "The social debate should focus on 'natural' death with dignity, not on euthanasia which means intentional death."
"What we need to do now is to define the concept of medical treatment for terminally ill patients. Ending medical treatment is not equivalent to death," he said.
Joi Hun-jeong, a spokesman for the Korean Medical Association (KMA), said the association is working on its own guideline.
"Removing the respirator does not always result in the patient's death," he said. "Kim's family argued that the artificial ventilator was painful for her. That's why they asked for court approval to have it removed. It wasn't to have her die."
"The KMA has convened a task force to set a guideline on death with dignity. A final draft will be prepared around September." [rc]
brk@yna.co.kr
Copyright Yonhap News Agency
June 24, 2009
KOREA: Patient still breathing after respirator removed renews controversy
.
SEOUL, South Korea / Yonhap News Agency / Society / June 24, 2009
By Kim Boram
A comatose patient whose life support was removed Tuesday after a landmark court ruling is still breathing on her own, hospital officials said Wednesday, sparking renewed controversy over what constitutes "death with dignity."
Respiratory signs of the 77-year-old woman known only by her family name Kim, who fell into a coma after suffering post-surgery cerebral damage early last year, remain stable nearly a day after life support was turned off on Tuesday morning, according to Yonsei Severance Hospital.
After a year of court battles between the patient's family and the hospital, the Supreme Court in May recognized the patient's right to die with dignity and ordered the hospital to remove the respirator.
In one of the court's most controversial rulings to date, it approved for the first time of what professionals refer to as "passive euthanasia," saying that continued treatment violates the dignity of the patient who has virtually no hope of recovery.
The hospital decided to comply with the court order, but heated debate ensued over the criteria to be used when determining when and how death with dignity would apply.
The case of Kim, who has continued to breathe on her own for over 20 hours, has refueled the ongoing debate.
"The hospital will continue to care for her as long as she is breathing," said Lee Jae-hyuk, a spokesman for Yonsei Hospital. "We are providing nutritional treatment and water. We have found no unusual symptoms."
He added, "We, of course, respect the court ruling, but we are doing our best to keep her alive."
According to hospital guidelines, Kim had not entered the terminal stage in which a patient can choose to die with dignity after giving prior consent, the hospital said.
"The hospital believed that Kim was not about to die. That's why she is still alive," another hospital official said.
The country's Catholic community, meanwhile, expressed concerns over how Kim's case may affect the ongoing debate.
"What the court ordered was to end the meaningless medical treatment for the sake of prolonging life, not to make her die," said Prof. Lee Dong-ik of Catholic University of Korea. "The social debate should focus on 'natural' death with dignity, not on euthanasia which means intentional death."
"What we need to do now is to define the concept of medical treatment for terminally ill patients. Ending medical treatment is not equivalent to death," he said.
Joi Hun-jeong, a spokesman for the Korean Medical Association (KMA), said the association is working on its own guideline.
"Removing the respirator does not always result in the patient's death," he said. "Kim's family argued that the artificial ventilator was painful for her. That's why they asked for court approval to have it removed. It wasn't to have her die."
"The KMA has convened a task force to set a guideline on death with dignity. A final draft will be prepared around September." [rc]
brk@yna.co.kr
Copyright Yonhap News Agency
After a year of court battles between the patient's family and the hospital, the Supreme Court in May recognized the patient's right to die with dignity and ordered the hospital to remove the respirator.
In one of the court's most controversial rulings to date, it approved for the first time of what professionals refer to as "passive euthanasia," saying that continued treatment violates the dignity of the patient who has virtually no hope of recovery.
The hospital decided to comply with the court order, but heated debate ensued over the criteria to be used when determining when and how death with dignity would apply.
The case of Kim, who has continued to breathe on her own for over 20 hours, has refueled the ongoing debate.
"The hospital will continue to care for her as long as she is breathing," said Lee Jae-hyuk, a spokesman for Yonsei Hospital. "We are providing nutritional treatment and water. We have found no unusual symptoms."
He added, "We, of course, respect the court ruling, but we are doing our best to keep her alive."
According to hospital guidelines, Kim had not entered the terminal stage in which a patient can choose to die with dignity after giving prior consent, the hospital said.
"The hospital believed that Kim was not about to die. That's why she is still alive," another hospital official said.
The country's Catholic community, meanwhile, expressed concerns over how Kim's case may affect the ongoing debate.
"What the court ordered was to end the meaningless medical treatment for the sake of prolonging life, not to make her die," said Prof. Lee Dong-ik of Catholic University of Korea. "The social debate should focus on 'natural' death with dignity, not on euthanasia which means intentional death."
"What we need to do now is to define the concept of medical treatment for terminally ill patients. Ending medical treatment is not equivalent to death," he said.
Joi Hun-jeong, a spokesman for the Korean Medical Association (KMA), said the association is working on its own guideline.
"Removing the respirator does not always result in the patient's death," he said. "Kim's family argued that the artificial ventilator was painful for her. That's why they asked for court approval to have it removed. It wasn't to have her die."
"The KMA has convened a task force to set a guideline on death with dignity. A final draft will be prepared around September." [rc]
brk@yna.co.kr
Copyright Yonhap News Agency
