Former sports commentator Fu Da-ren (傅達仁) yesterday underwent voluntary euthanasia at a Dignitas facility in Switzerland after deciding to end his life in a manner of his own choosing.
Fu, 85, had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and had been pushing for Taiwan to allow euthanasia since 2016, but had turned to other organizations after making no headway in this nation.
Since his petition was approved by Dignitas last year, he had delayed the procedure eight times, but last month he traveled to Switzerland resolved to go through with the procedure.
Photo: screen grab from Facebook
Fu said he “was dying with dignity,” adding that his euthanasia would serve as a case study for the Taiwanese government and public so that they would treat the issue of euthanasia with the seriousness it deserves.
Just an hour before he entered the Dignitas facility, Fu updated his Facebook page, reminiscing about his life, as well as calling for the government to expedite the passage of a euthanasia act.
Fu was accompanied by his family members when the procedure was carried out.
Dignitas, which emphasizes the concept “to live with dignity, to die with dignity,” has helped more than 2,000 people end their life over the past two decades.
As Switzerland has not legalized euthanasia, the entire process is overseen by Swiss police and the body examined by coroners to ensure that there has been no criminal behavior, Dignitas said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday said that the concept of euthanasia, or assisted suicide, is a contravention of the Criminal Code.
There is no domestic consensus on euthanasia, but the Patient Right to Autonomy Act (病人自主權利法), which is to promulgated on Jan. 6 next year, would serve to test the waters on the issue, the ministry said.
Under the act, which has been touted as the first of its kind in Asia, patients with five clinical conditions who have made an advance decision could have physicians partially or fully terminate, withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment, artificial nutrition and hydration in accordance with their advance decision.
The statutory conditions for such patients are that they are either terminally ill, in an irreversible coma, in a permanent vegetative state, suffering from severe dementia or another condition that is determined to be unbearable or incurable.
Additional reporting by Wu Liang-yi and CNA
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
STRAIT OF HORMUZ: In the case of a prolonged blockade by Iran, Taiwan would look to sources of LNG outside the Middle East, including Australia and the US Taiwan would not have to ration power due to a shortage of natural gas, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, after reports that the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the conflict in the Middle East. The government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for this month and contingency measures are in place if the conflict extends into next month, Kung told lawmakers. Saying that 25 percent of Taiwan’s natural gas supplies are from Qatar, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) asked about the situation in light of the conflict. There would be “no problems” with
RSS