Guidelines on Terminating Life Support Created
South Korean doctors and hospitals have come up with guidelines regarding the discontinuation of life support for the terminally ill.
The Korean Medical Association and the Korean Hospital Association announced the guidelines on Tuesday.
Under the guidelines, life-sustaining treatments that will not help a terminally ill patient to recover can be removed based on the patient’s wishes as well as the doctor’s professional medical judgment.
If patients decide not to receive life-sustaining treatments after thoroughly understanding their terminal state, doctors are not to apply artificial respirators or cardiopulmonary resuscitation against the patients' will.
Additionally, the guidelines recognized that, on behalf of those who become brain-dead, a patient’s guardian also has the right to reject life support.
However, the guidelines are voluntary measures, and thus are not legally enforceable.
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