[Typewriter Baking Bread] The Right to Decide the End of Life, It's Time to Start Considering It Now

'Well Dying' Emerging in Modern Society
Patients, Medical Professionals, and Religious Figures...
23 Conversations on Dignified Death

Recently, news of a Dutch couple who passed away on the same day after receiving medication from a doctor was reported by foreign media. They met and grew up together since kindergarten and eventually became a married couple. The husband suffered from severe back pain for over 20 years due to an injury sustained at work. Eventually, the wife was diagnosed with dementia in 2022. Both agreed that "there was no other solution," and they spent their final moments with their son and grandchildren before ending their lives.

[Typewriter Baking Bread] The Right to Decide the End of Life, It's Time to Start Considering It Now

For a long time, humanity has tabooed discussions about death, but in modern society, 'well dying,' or embracing death gracefully, is emphasized. Accordingly, there has been growing consensus to allow dignified death for patients suffering from excruciating and persistent pain. Switzerland and the Netherlands have long permitted doctors to respond to patients' requests to end their lives due to physical illnesses. In the United States, about ten states allow medically assisted death. In Korea, the 'Act on Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment' was enacted in 2016, allowing terminal patients to choose to discontinue life-sustaining treatment. Recently, the National Assembly has reintroduced a bill on 'assisted dignified death,' which would allow patients with no chance of recovery to end their lives with a doctor's help.

"When those facing decisions (in the legislative body) accept that 'the individual's right to decide when to end life is lawful,' we will be able to think more comfortably about death as an important part of life." When My Time Comes: Twenty-Three Conversations About Dignified Death is a book that compiles the author's conversations with patients, families, medical professionals, religious figures, and politicians about dignified death. Diane Rehm, a famous American broadcaster and the author, uses her experience to richly and vividly convey diverse stories from various sectors.

The author has long been an advocate for the 'right to die with dignity' in the United States. In fact, she witnessed her mother suffering from cirrhosis die in extreme pain, and her husband, who had Parkinson's disease, ultimately end his life through voluntary cessation of eating. She revealed that "through these experiences, a passionate belief in the right to die began to take root."

The book’s first conversation begins with the story of a husband who lost his wife to dignified death. The couple discovered a massive tumor on the wife's head the year after their marriage. They were told she had only 3 to 5 years left to live. Frequent seizures and excruciating pain followed, and after much deliberation, the wife chose medically assisted death, saying, "My time has come." This decision was made to avoid a dying process filled with pain, vomiting, and paralysis. The husband, who witnessed the entire process, said, "(She) did not choose between living and dying. The option to live was never given. She could only choose between two different ways to die. One was gentle, but the other would have been full of pain and suffering."

The author did not exclude opposing views on dignified death. A Catholic priest participating in the conversations defined assisted death as "the ultimate selfish act" and argued that voluntarily taking life could never be a commendable public policy. Similarly, a doctor opposing the idea criticized that "ending life is not advanced science" and warned that discussions on dignified death might conceal social issues such as elder abuse. The lack of sufficient research on related medications was also pointed out.

The book concludes with a conversation between the author and her 18-year-old grandson. When the author asked for help to allow medically assisted death at the final moment, the grandson said, "I do not want to go through losing Grandpa to Parkinson’s or Grandma to Alzheimer’s again. They would never have wanted to be in that state at the end." He added, "Whatever way Grandma wants to end her life, I will fully support it." What do you want when the end of your life approaches?