Honestly, I thought this was a really difficult and sensitive topic. It made me think about how hard it is to decide when to stop treatment. There’s no clear right answer.
Actually, I had a similar experience in my family. My dad once fell into a serious condition due to pneumonia. The doctor asked us about life-sustaining treatment.
In Japan, when a patient’s condition takes a turn for the worse, doctors often ask the family how far they want to go with life-prolonging treatment. I think a lot of it depends on the patient's age, and seriousness of their condition. Some families want everything possible to be done, like keeping the person on a ventilator even if there’s almost no chance they’ll regain consciousness, while others only want the bare minimum because they don't want their loved one to suffer. We went with the latter.
My siblings and I just knew in our hearts that our dad would never want to be kept alive artificially like that. Honestly I was confused and didn’t know what the right decision was. It was a completely unexpected situation, because he had been fine just a few days before. And everything happened so suddenly. Actually he recovered miraculously from that situation, which was a relief.
When a family is forced to make a decision like that, it’s a bit easier to prepare yourself mentally if the patient has been sick for a long time. They would have time to think about it in advance, or talk with the patient about their wishes. But when it’s like my dad’s case, where someone who was perfectly healthy is suddenly fighting for their life, it makes the decision incredibly difficult.
Looking at social media, I notice there are a lot of different opinions about life-sustaining treatment, especially for very elderly people, like those over 90. People seem pretty divided on this issue. A lot of people think that we shouldn’t use life-prolonging treatment for very elderly patients who have little chance of recovery.
There are mainly two reasons for that.
Some say it’s just cruel because it only prolongs the suffering of someone who is already very frail, especially for older patients who are already physically weak. The other reason is about medical costs.
Maybe this is related to the topic we discussed the other day. Some people think we shouldn’t use limited healthcare resources on patients who are unlikely to recover. There is an issue that rising medical costs have been putting pressure on Japan's public health insurance system, because as I said the other day, 70% of our medical costs are covered by that. And the system is funded by the premiums that each of us pays.
That’s why some people argue that, in order to use limited healthcare resources more effectively, we also need to think carefully about how much is spent on life-prolonging treatment.
In the article, a patient with ALS is worried that treatment might be stopped for the convenience of hospitals or family members. But personally, I don’t think that’s very likely to happen.
In normal circumstances, I don’t think a hospital or family would stop treatment just for their own convenience. However, it’s also a reality that we sometimes hear tragic news about people killing their relatives due to caregiver burnout.
For patients with disabilities or intractable diseases who need 24-hour care, they might often struggle with the idea that they are imposing on their loved ones. If their fear of 'hospital convenience' is actually a reflection of this pressure, it’s heartbreaking. Honestly, if I were in their shoes, I might feel the exact same way.
I feel the most important thing is for families to talk about their wishes ahead of time. In most cases, the family has to make the final call. To make sure they don't feel guilty or blame themselves later, they need to be able to make a choice they can live with. And if that kind of understanding is already there, I think it’s less likely that serious conflicts in your mind will happen, no matter what decision is made.
What do you think about euthanasia? Do you think it should be allowed for people who have serious illnesses and are unlikely to recover?
Personally, I hope euthanasia would be allowed as an option for ending one’s life.
Patients with incurable illnesses often have to go through long-term, stressful treatment, and that can be very painful to endure.
On social media, people often discuss this issue when talking about medical topics like the one in this article.
Interestingly, many people say they want to choose euthanasia if they had a serious illness that was unlikely to be cured.
But when it comes to their family members, many people feel differently.
They hope their loved ones would stay alive as long as possible.
It can be really difficult to respect someone’s decision, especially if they are still young or if you believe there might be other treatment options. There’s also another serious concern. Euthanasia could be misused by people with bad intentions—for example, to take advantage of life insurance.
So if it were to be allowed, I think strict legal regulations would be necessary to prevent that kind of abuse.
I think the most difficult part is the risk that euthanasia could be used as an 'easy way out' for people who aren't terminally ill but have a desire to end their lives.
We have to make sure it doesn't become a simple tool for suicide. I’ve heard that Switzerland, where it’s already legal, has a very strict screening process.
These regulations are likely there to prevent the law from encouraging suicide and to ensure it's only used for its intended purpose.
