Panel urges hospital chief to respect wish of ALS patient on respirator
Tuesday 07th October, 02:26 AM JST

TOKYO —

The ethics committee of a hospital in Chiba Prefecture proposed in April that the head of the hospital respect the wish of a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to remove a respirator from him if the disease makes him unable to communicate, sources familiar with the matter said Monday. It is unusual that a hospital’s ethics panel has made a judgment on such a request by ALS patients, according to medical experts.

But Shinsuke Kameda, head of Kameda General Hospital in the city of Kamogawa, has shown reluctance to remove respirators from ALS patients, saying, ‘‘Under current law, it is difficult to remove respirators because doctors could be arrested (on charges of murder). We need more discussion in society.’’

Those supporting patients with intractable diseases have also grown concerned that ALS patients may opt to kill themselves if they are authorized by the medical circle to remove respirators by their own will.

In May last year, the 68-year-old patient, a resident of the prefecture, east of Tokyo, asked the hospital to remove the respirator if he becomes unable to communicate.

The patient began suffering from ALS when he was 49. The hospital attached the patient to a respirator when he had trouble breathing in 1992.


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