Taiwan approves law to allow relatives to end life support

Jan 10, 2011, 12:26 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan's parliament Monday approved a revised bill to allow close relatives to request the withdrawal of life support for patients who are both terminally ill and non-cognitive.

Each request would then be assessed to check that the patient had no chance of recovery or regaining consciousness.

The legislation revises the Hospice and Palliative Care Act, which previously required the patient to have given prior approval for life support to be turned off in case of terminal illness.

The bill was passed two weeks after an elderly Taiwan man euthanized his ailing wife. It was expected to address concerns that Taiwan law prevents the terminally ill from dying with dignity.

The new law will allow 'spouses, adult children and grandchildren, or parents of a terminally ill patient who can no longer express his or her desire for living to request for discontinuing life support,' a parliament official said.

The request can only be approved if at least two doctors confirm there is no chance of recovery, and a panel of medical, ethics and legal experts review the case, he said.

The official noted that the new regulation is still a far cry from legalizing euthanasia, which remains banned in Taiwan.

The issue hit the headlines last month after an 83-year-old former engineer killed his wife, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, by hammering a screwdriver through her skull while she was under the influence of sleeping pills. The man later claimed he acted for the good of his 'beloved wife.'

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