Decision to end one’s life extended to 11 rare diseases

Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/06/2020
By: Chang Ming-hsuan and Elizabeth Hsu

Taipei, Jan. 6 (CNA) People in Taiwan can now decide in advance under the Patient Right to Autonomy Act to not have their lives prolonged if they have any one of 11 rare diseases, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said in a statement Monday.

The Act, the first of its kind in Asia, allowed people the right to decide in advance to have a doctor terminate or withhold life-sustaining treatments, nutrition and hydration if they are terminally ill, in an irreversible coma, in a permanent vegetative state, or suffering from severe dementia.

It also applied to people with other diseases considered "unbearable" and "incurable" that do not have any other treatment options.

Now, however, doctors will also be able to follow the same advance instructions for patients with any of the 11 rare diseases listed Monday, including multiple system atrophy (MSA), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and hereditary epidermolysis bullosa.    [FULL  STORY]