Seoul - A family's request on Friday to stop treatment for a woman lying in a coma was granted by a court in South Korea, the first ruling of its kind without the patient's consent, local media reported. The feeding tube and life support were ordered removed from the 75-year-old woman by the Seoul Western District Court, saying she has no chance of recovery and her desire to stop treatment can be inferred, the Korea Herald reported.
Though Kim had left no indication howshe wanted to die, her children argued their mother, who fell into a coma while receiving a lung examination in February, had always opposed keeping people alive on machines when there is no chance of revival.
"Doctors have the obligation to comply with a patient's demand for the removal of a respirator in case it is meaningless to extend life, and if it serves more for the dignity and value as a human being (for the patient) to die spontaneously," Seoul Western District Court said in the ruling.
The court, however, warned that the ruling does not deal with "proactive euthanasia" and does not mean that family members have the right to independently ask to end medical treatment for loved ones.
