Any move toward legalizing assisted suicide in the nation should be made with caution and start from the grassroots, as it would be “improper” for the government to take the lead on the policy, Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said yesterday.
Hsueh made the remarks at a meeting in the Legislative Yuan, where he took several questions relating to famed sculptor Ju Ming (朱銘), who died by suicide at 85 over the weekend following years of chronic health problems.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wen Yu-hsia (溫玉霞) said that Ju’s death and dozens of similar cases each year highlighted areas of Taiwan’s “long-term care” policies that still needed to be improved.
Photo: CNA
In making those reforms, the government should also consider the question of whether to legalize euthanasia, Wen said, but added that it would probably be difficult to reach a consensus at present.
New Power Party Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) asked to what degree such issues could be handled under current laws, such as the Hospice Palliative Care Act (安寧緩和醫療條例) of 2000 and the 2019 Patient Right to Autonomy Act (病人自主權利法), which guarantees patients’ right to a good death.
Citing the Netherlands as an example of a country that has legalized euthanasia while maintaining “extremely rigorous standards,” Chiu asked whether the health ministry should initiate conversations with various sectors of society on the topic.
Hsueh said that with euthanasia, the crux of the issue is that it does not just involve a person who is ill and wants to end their life, but also another individual who has to actively assist them.
As this responsibility would currently fall on medical personnel, there is significant controversy over whether it should be allowed, he said.
Many cases, like Ju’s, have complex backstories, and should not be automatically attributed to failures in long-term care policies, he said.
As for the legal and ethical side of the issue, the laws cited by Chiu are sufficient at least for passive situations, in which doctors do not provide life-extending care if that is what the patient wants, he said.
However, in terms of physician-assisted suicide, the problem is that both the Hippocratic Oath and the policies of the World Medical Association are firmly opposed to it, Hsueh said.
Therefore, even if there were a legal basis for euthanasia, there might not be medical professionals willing to take part, he said.
Hsueh also appeared wary of engaging with medical associations on the issue, saying it would be “a bit strange” for the health ministry to be in the position of trying to convince doctors to breach their own professional guidelines.
Because of this, Hsueh said he believes that any plans to change the legal status of euthanasia should be made with caution, and should proceed from the bottom up.
“The government should not be enthusiastically promoting euthanasia. Having the government take the lead [on the issue] would be improper,” Hsueh added.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS