题名

從儒家的觀點省察病人自主權利法的限制:以永久性植物人為例

并列篇名

Confucian Perspective on the Limitation of the Patient Right to Autonomy Act in the Case of Permanent Vegetative State Patients

作者

黃漢忠(Hon-Chung Wong)

关键词

病人自主權利法 ; 永久性植物人狀態 ; 預立醫療決定 ; 維生醫療 ; Patient Right to Autonomy Act ; Permanent Vegetative State ; Advanced Decision ; Life-sustaining Treatment

期刊名称

應用倫理評論

卷期/出版年月

67期(2019 / 10 / 01)

页次

43 - 64

内容语文

繁體中文

中文摘要

醫療科技的不斷進展,為許多病人帶來治癒的希望,但也產生了各種過往沒有出現過的倫理難題。例如,各種維生醫療的使用,固然讓危急的病人存有一線生機,但當病人已沒有任何治癒的希望,這些醫療處置可能只是延長其瀕死過程,甚至只是增加他們的痛苦。雖然民國89年制定的安寧緩和醫療條例,已可讓末期病人透過簽署意願書,選擇安寧緩和醫療或作維生醫療抉擇,但對於罹患其他嚴重疾病、且亦沒有治癒希望、但尚未是末期的病人,例如處於永久性植物人狀態的病人,安寧緩和醫療條例仍未能讓他們從其所處的困境中解脫。因此,民國105年制定、並於今年(108年)開始施行的病人自主權利法,為此類飽受疾病煎熬的病人提供了一條出路。病人自主權利法除申明了病人的知情權、選擇權和決定權外,同時規定當病人處於該法所列的五種臨床條件,包括永久性植物人狀態時,可透過預立醫療決定,選擇終止、撤除或不施行維持生命治療或人工營養及流體餵養。雖然相比於安寧緩和醫療條例,病人自主的確擴大了病人的自主權,為末期病人外的其他某些特定類型的重症病人提供更多的選擇,但事實上是否能充分解決他們以及其家人所面對的難題,仍有待商榷。本文的目的,即在於藉由國內一宗相當著名的植物人案例-王曉民的遭遇,反思病人自主權利法的限制,並從儒家的觀點和參考國外相關案例,提出修訂建議。

英文摘要

The continuous advancement of medical technology has brought hope for their cure for many patients, but it has also produced various ethical problems that have not appeared in the past. For instance, the use of various life-sustaining treatments may give a chance to keep alive to critically ill patients, but may also prolong their dying process or may even increase their suffering if they have no hope of healing. Although the Hospice Palliative Care Act enacted in 2000 in Taiwan have enabled terminally ill patients to choose palliative care and to decide not to receive or withdraw from life-sustaining treatments by signing a letter of intent, patients who are not yet in the final stage but may be irreversible, such as patients in a permanent vegetative state, have not been able to free themselves from their predicament through this Act. Hence, the Patient Right to Autonomy Act enacted in 2016 and begins to implement this year, provides a way out for such patients suffering from their disease. In addition to affirming patient's right to know, choice and decision, the Act also stipulates that patient may choose to terminate, withdraw or not receive life-sustaining treatment or artificial nutrition and hydration through advanced decision when the patient is in the five clinical conditions listed in the Act, including permanent vegetative state, Although the Patient Right to Autonomy Act, compared to the Hospice Palliative Care Act, does expand patient autonomy and provide more choices for certain types of critically ill patients other than terminal patients, whether it is able to adequately address the problems encountered by them and their families is still open to question. This paper aims at reviewing the limitations of the Patient Right to Autonomy Act through a reflection on the case of Wang Xiao-Min, a well-known medical vegetative state patient in Taiwan, and proposing some revisions of the Act from the Confucian point of view and reference to other relevant foreign medical cases.

主题分类 人文學 > 人文學綜合
社會科學 > 社會科學綜合
社會科學 > 教育學
参考文献
  1. 病人自主權利法施行細則,民國 107 年 10 月 03 日公布。
  2. 蘋果日報 (2018.05.11)。還記得「王曉民」嗎?母親過世前替女求安樂死。取自https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20180511/1351677/
  3. 病人自主權利法,民國 108 年 06 月 12 日修訂。
  4. 聯合報 (2015.01.05)。王曉民搭救護專機赴美。取自https://web.archive.org/web/20110108042424/http://mag.udn.com/mag/news/storypage.jsp?f_ART_ID=292415
  5. 蘋果日報 (2018.06.14)。【安樂死合法化?】賴臺生:怎麼忍心讓他無尊嚴活下去?。取自https://tw.appledaily.com/new/realtime/20180614/1372719/
  6. 提供預立醫療照護諮商之醫療機構管理辦法,民國 107 年 10 月 03 日公布。
  7. 安寧緩和醫療條例,民國 102 年 01 月 09 日修訂。
  8. Airedale NHS Trust v Bland (1993). Retrieved June 10, 2018 from https://www.globalhealthrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/HL-1993-Airedale-NHS-Trust-v.-Bland.pdf
  9. Gaudin, Anne Marie(1991).Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health: To Die or Not to Die: That is the Question - But Who Decides?.Louisiana Law Review,51(6),1308-1345.
  10. Kuhse, Helga(Ed.),Singer, Peter(Ed.)(1999).Bioethics: An Anthology.Oxford:Blackwell.
  11. 李瑞全(1999).儒家生命倫理學.臺北:鵝湖.
  12. 孫效智(2018).最美的姿態說再見:病人自主權利法的內涵與實踐.臺北:天下.
  13. 衛生福利部 (2019.09.12)。提供預立醫療照護諮商醫療機構。取自https://hpcod.mohw.gov.tw/HospWeb/RWD/PageType/acp/HospitalMap.aspx
被引用次数
  1. 李瑞全(2020)。從臨終死亡的概念與儒家親子關係反省病人自主權利法之意涵。應用倫理評論,68,1-29。
  2. 李瑞全(2021)。新冠病毒疫情的倫理反思與公共衛生倫理學的建構。應用倫理評論,70,197-241。
  3. 李岳庭(2020)。預立醫療照護諮商與諮商倫理。應用倫理評論,69,259-275。
  4. 楊婉萍,陳煌麒,宋聖芬(2022)。末期醫療抉擇的家庭會議溝通模式之回溯性分析。台灣公共衛生雜誌,41(2),226-233。