• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.140-149
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate nurses' perceptions and attitudes towards euthanasia. Method: The subject consisted of 345 nurses from the four general hospitals above 500 beds. Measurement tools were the Ryu's perceptions towards euthanasia, and Park's attitudes toward euthanasia. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA by using SPSS WIN 10.0 program. Results: The approval rate of passive euthanasia was 62.6%. Main reason of approval for the passive euthanasia was that euthanasia was "act of mercy". On the other hand, main reason of opposition was that "life is invaluable". 81.2% of subjects responded saying that they would ask for passive euthanasia. The approval rate of active euthanasia was 15.7%. 54.8% of subjects responded saying that they will not ask for active euthanasia. General characteristics significantly related to attitudes to euthanasia were the units, nursing degree, and meaning of euthanasia. The mean score for attitudes to euthanasia was 2.36 and it was negative attitudes. Conclusion: Man has the right to live within his life with dignity. What is most important here seems to be the legalization of euthanasia which still remains unresolved.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.379-390
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• 2000

Euthanasia have received considerable attention recentely in medical literature, public discussion, and proposed state legislation. Almost all the discussion in this area has focused on the role of physicians. However, nurse may be in special position to understand the wishes of patients and to act on this understanding. Purpose of this study is to identity the meaning of euthanasia in terminal ill patients on the nurses' veiw. Forcused interveiw design was used to data collection The data were analyzed by semantic analysis, and analysis of the data resulted in identification of 14 categories representing the meaning of euthanasia. 1. The meaning of supported euthanasia is 'free of suffering', 'difficulty of economic status', 'right of patient and family', 'dignity of death', 'organ transplant', 'social legislation'. 2. The meaning of opposited euthanasia is 'artificial death', 'value of life', 'uncertainity', 'guilt feeling' 3. The meaning of care in terminalily ill patients is 'avoidance', 'powerlessness'. 'apathy'. 'passive attitude'. The policy debate about professional roles in action that end of lives of patients must be extended nurses. Nurses must take an active role in discussion and definition of acceptable practice at the end of life.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.51-59
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• 2020

Although the life-sustaining treatment decision law is in effect, health care worker have many difficulties in determining life-sustaining treatment. Therefore, the relationship between the awareness of well-dying(WD), the attitude toward withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment(AWLST), and the attitude toward euthanasia(AE) for nursing students who will take care of dying patients in the future will be analyzed and used as basic data for bioethics classes. The study period was from April 1 to May 6, 2018, and a survey was conducted on 288 nursing students in D City. As a result of the study, WD was found to have positive (+) correlations with AWLST and AE, while AWLST was positive (+) with active and passive euthanasia. As nurses are expected to experience many ethical conflicts in the life-sustaining treatment process, it is necessary to receive education related to well-dying awareness, bioethics education, and life-sustaining treatment during the nursing student period.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.461-503
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• 2008

The right to live is the most valuable benefit and protection of the law. And Medical science is the study considering value of life as the top priority. As modern medical science has progressed and expanding lifespan skills have developed, the number of symptom, called a human vegetable, has been also increased. As a result, people concerns whether euthanasia should be permitted. (1) Active euthanasia is prohibited and a doctor who conduct it is punished. (2) Indirect euthanasia can be permitted unless it is against a patient's intention. (3) Permission of passive euthanasia depends on intention of a patient. In other words, when a patient accepts, a doctor respects the right of self determination of patient and irreversible situation such as brain death happens, treatment stop is permitted. Even a patient who is in the last stage of cancer has a right to die in the dignity and elegance. Solutions for ceasing medical treatment are as follows; First, establishment of 'Bioethics Committee'. Second, setting procedures to empower a court a right to decide whether medical treatment is ceased. Third, setting procedure a government to assist treatment fees. In this paper, direction for social agreement of legal policy regarding the ceasing treatment is provided.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.285-308
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• 2012

The Korean supreme court said that Mrs Kim who was in a persistent vegetative state had a right to die if she had a presumed will or assumption of dying against Severance hospital in 2009. Presumed would be vague and can not be subjective to conjecture though, the court had a developed trial on the case. I recommend the higher valued notion such as the 'right to decide on the life extension' is more logical than assumptive will. To achieve this recommendation, I will search right to life, right to decision, human dignity and find the good relationship between them. In conclusion, I will announce that if PVS patients without advanced directives aren't able to express their will and no one could not assume their right to die in spite of meaningless life extension. So only the due and strict procedure about the extinction of meaningless PVS patients will allow them to sacrifice themselves or remove life extension ventilators. Also active euthanasia would be possible under the strict procedure of making advanced directives and the act of helping active euthanasia additionally, the crime of abetting suicide would not be executed in the legal scope.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.263-305
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• 2009

Is it lawful to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment applied to a patient in a terminal condition or permanent unconscious condition? In Korea, there are no such laws or regulations which control affairs related to the withholding or withdrawal life-support treatment and active euthanasia as the Natural Death Act or the Death with Dignity Act in the U. S. A. And in addition there has had no precedent of Supreme Court. Recently Supreme Court has pronounced a historical judgment on a terminal care case. The court allowed the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from a patient in a permanent unconscious state. Fundamentally the court judged that the continuation of that medical treatment would infringe dignity and value of a patient as a human being. And the court required some legal grounds to consider such withdrawal or withholding of medical care lawful. The legal grounds are as follow. First, the patient is in a incurable and irreversible condition and already entered a stage of death. Second, the patient executed a directive, in advance, directing the withholding or withdrawal of life-support treatment in a incurable and irreversible condition or in a terminal condition. Otherwise, at least, the patient's will would be presumed through his/her character, view of value, philosophy, religious faith and career etc. I regard if a patient is in a incurable and irreversible condition or in a terminal condition, the medical contract between a patient and a doctor would be terminated because of the actual impossibility of achievement of it's purpose. So I think the discontinuation of life-sustaining care would be legally allowed without depending on the patient's own will.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.140-146
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• 2008

Purpose: Sooner of later, end-of-life care decision-making will unfold and be settled during the professional lives of medical students. However, there is prevalent ambiguity and uncertainty between the palliative treatment and euthanasia. We conducted this survey to investigate attitudes of medical students towards end-of-life making decisions, and to find out which factors primarily influenced the attitudes. Methods: A study was conducted among medical students at one university, the Republic of Korea. A written questionnaire was sent to all the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-year medical students. It presented 5 statements on end-of-life decision-making. Students were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with each statement. Results: The response rate was 74.4%, and 267 questionnaires were analyzed. Percentages of agreement with each statements on Voluntary active euthanasia (VAE), Physician assisted suicide (PAS), Withholding life-sustaining management, Withdrawing life-sustaining management, and Terminal sedation (TS) was 37.1%, 21.7%, 58.4%, 60.3%, and 41.6%, respectively. The grade of students, religious activity, and educational experience were determinant factors. Agreement on each statements was higher in the low religious activity group than in the high religious activity group. Agreement on TS was higher among 3rd year students during their clerkship than among 1st and 2nd year students. Age of students and the experience of dying-people care had no significant influence. Conclusion: In end-of-life decision-making, religious and educational factors influenced medical students' attitudes. Especially, the experience of education during clerkship had significant influence on the attitude. Proper teaching on end-of-life decisions should further be considered during medical students' clerkship.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.459-480
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• 2003

Purpose: This study was done to analyze the contents of nurses' ethical decision-making in four of hypothetical dilemma cases using the Cameron's Ethical Decision-Making Model of 'Value, Be, Do'. Method: Sixteen nurses who work at ICU at present or worked before, participated from April 10 to May 10 in 2002. The participants were interviewed three times each and for 40 minutes at once, with a structured questionnaire at their working places and locker rooms. The data was analyzed by a procedure of qualitative content analysis into three categories; what should I value, who should I be, what should I do. Result: 1) In consistency, most of subjects showed a unified voice in 'Value, Be, Do'. Exceptionally 8 subjects showed inconsistency such as 3 in active treatment to the incurable patients(case 1), 1 in treatment truth-telling to the terminally ill patients(case 2), 3 in conflict with uncooperative doctors(case 3), 3 in dying patients and euthanasia(case 4). Only one subject showed inconsistency in 3 dilemma cases. 2) Closing the interview procedure, the subjects evaluated Cameron's Model as it would help them build consistent value, carry right action, and cope to conflicts. Conclusion: On the basis of the results, it is recommended that nursing ethics should adopt the ethical decision-making model, and be applied to the curriculum of nursing colleges and continuing education program for clinical nurses.