More than 3 million koreans have signed up to refuse life prolonging treatment

Today, I am going to explain another thing that I like about Korea, even though I know that this exists in more countries, at least in Europe. In Korea, you can sign up not to receive treatment if you are in critical condition, and there is no chance for recovery. Even that could be an uncomfortable topic to think about, as many of us don’t wanna think about the last moments of our lives. However, many people don’t want to spend a lot of time suffering in a bed, with no chance to recover.

Recently, it has been reported that more than 3 million Koreans have signed up for that system, and they got the card that acknowledges that they don’t want to receive life-prolonging treatments. Interestingly, more than 2 thirds of the requests are from women, maybe because they think more about that kind of thing. Anyway, I like it a lot that you have the right to choose this while you are in good condition.

In Spain, there is a euthanasia law that is a similar but different system. It is the patient who requests the end of his/her life and has to make 2 requests in a period of 15 days. Also, this request has to be approved by a committee of doctors. Additionally, it is legally possible to do the same as in South Korea, but it is not very common as it is a slow process and people have to pay fees. Therefore, even though Spain has a smaller population than South Korea, only 0.5 million people have undergone this procedure.

Here is a medical ethics debate. Probably, there is no simple answer to this situation, and it will probably be different depending on every person. This is a very complex topic. However, I like that you can make your decision fast and easily, without unnecessary bureaucracy.

Source: The Korea Herald, Redaccionmedica.com (spanish)