조력존엄사와 관련된 연명의료결정법 일부개정 법률안의 문제점과 그 개선방안

Abstract

In Korea, people are allowed to exercise their right to self-determin ation over their own deaths at the end of their lives under the Hospice, Palliative Care, and Patient Life-sustaining Treatment Decisions Act, su ch as suspension of hospice and life-sustaining treatment. In addition t o these systems, a partial amendment to the Life-sustaining Treatment Decision Act was proposed at the representative suggestion of Rep. Ah n Kyu-baek on June 15, 2022, and it is socially discussed whether to introduce an “assisted suicide with dignity" system that allows patients to end their lives with the help of doctors. Under the current law, thro ugh revision, expanded the scope of medical procedures subject to life -sustaining treatment and the timing of drafting a life-sustaining treat ment plan, and eased the decision-making process, such as the termina tion of life-sustaining treatment for hospice patients. Nevertheless, the current law is still not activated, and both patients and medical staff ar e not accurately aware of the system. All procedures related to the su spension of life-sustaining treatment have not yet been activated for t he people, and each institutional distinction has not been accurately rec ognized. In this paper, we will distinguish the concept of assisted suicide with d ignity, examine the relationship with the crime of assisted suicide unde r the criminal law, and examine whether the revised bill sufficiently pr otects the patient's right to self-determination and whether there are p roblems related to the implementation of assisted suicide procedures. In particular, if the physician-assisted suicide system for a dignified deat h is premised on forming a legal consensus through sufficient social dis cussion, the amended bill should stipulate the explanation duty of the a ttending physician and the guarantee of withdrawal of the patient's appli cation, which are legal devices to fully protect the self-determination o f patients who have applied for assisted death. Also, in determining the recipients of assisted death with dignity, the procedure should be suppl emented so that the patient's condition can be accurately identified thro ugh the intervention of the doctor in charge.