조력존엄사에 관한 철학적 성찰: 연명의료결정법과 차이를 중심으로

Abstract

Recently, an amendment to the Medical Care Act for Life Prolongation was proposed to legalize assisted death with dignity. This amendment, the legislative bill for assisted death with dignity defines the assisted death with dignity as a case where all of three requirements are fulfilled – 1) the applicant must be a terminal ill patient 2) the applicant is suffering unacceptable pain 3) the applicant must, in his/her own opinion, wish the assisted death with dignity. That is, it defines that a terminal ill patient getting through unbearable suffers can make a decision to end his or her own life with the assist of the doctor in charge. So it can be said that it corresponds to Aid in Dying. Around this amendment, there are lively discussions about whether a patient has the right to finish his or her own life, by receiving medical assistance and to what extent such behavior can be justified in a current situation where the Medical Care Act for Life Prolongation comes into force and therefore, meaningless life-sustaining treatment is stopped on the basis of human dignity and patient autonomy. In this article, I want to discuss the issue about the legislative bill for assisted death with dignity proposed as an amendment to the Medical Care Act for Life Prolongation from a philosophical point of view.