연명의료 유보·중단 ‘임종기→말기’ 논의 본격화…올해 권고안 마련

The National Life and Ethics Consultation Committee (Ethics Committee) held its 7th special session meeting on July 14 at the Korean Press Center in Seoul's Jung-gu district. The Ethics Committee, established under the presidency of the president to review national life and safety policies, decided to establish two specialized committees to discuss improving the decision-making system for maintaining life by delaying death.

The first committee will focus on reviewing the issues arising from the implementation of the life maintenance decision-making system and its actual operation. The second committee will examine the system for improving the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and health care data. A total of 14 experts from the medical, ethical, patient, legal, religious, and media fields will participate in the meeting.

The proposed improvement measures, including adjusting the timing of life maintenance suspension and cessation, are expected to be presented as guidelines this year. Currently, the Life Maintenance Decision Act allows life maintenance suspension or cessation only when a patient is deemed to be in the dying process. This includes procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, artificial respiration, blood transfusion, and the administration of chemotherapy that do not provide therapeutic effect but only prolong life.

While some medical professionals and citizen groups have advocated expanding the period for life maintenance suspension and cessation from the dying stage to the end-of-life stage to protect patients' self-determination rights, others have raised concerns about potential abuse due to economic burdens. The AI and health care data use specialized committee will discuss protecting individuals' rights regarding information, establishing data management systems, and reviewing the committee's review procedures to prepare improvement guidelines.

Ethics Committee Chair Kim Ok-ju stated, "These two specialized committees will lead discussions towards addressing the difficulties faced by patients, families, and medical staff in the current life maintenance decision-making system while protecting human dignity and rights, and promoting the advancement of data technology."