연명치료 행위의 중단에 관한 윤리적 고찰*: (서울서부지방법원 민사 제12부의 2008년 11월 28일 판결을 중심으로)

This article examines the ethical issues involved in a recent decision of the Seoul Western District Court stating that a hospital in Seoul has an obligation to comply with a request made by the family of a 76-year-old female patient to remove the patient from the respirator on which she is dependent. This article defends the following claims concerning this court decision: 1) that removing the respirator from this patient is not a form of euthanasia; 2) that the removal of the respirator does not infringe the patient’s right to treatment; 3) that the free will of the patient may have been respected, even though there was no written consent; and 4) that the court’s decision does not acknowledge the right to death of the patient. The article also examines the concept of death with dignity, since the removal of a respirator that meaninglessly prolongs a patient’s life has implications for a dignified death. When treatment merely delays the time of death, it is more of a source of pain for the patient than it is a form of medical treatment. Hence it is inhumane. However, even in these cases “ordinary treatment” should not be neglected.