16/05/2011 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Strasbourg, 16.05.2011 – Do we have the right to decide whether to start, continue or end medical treatment, and what might be the uses, benefits and limitations of living wills, with a view to better protection of health and human rights at all stages of life? These questions will be the central themes of a hearing in Paris on 19 May organised by the Social Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), at which parliamentarians and experts from France, Switzerland, Spain and Ukraine will review the situation in Council of Europe member states.
Jordi Xuclà i Costa (Spain, ALDE), tasked with presenting a report on this subject to the Parliamentary Assembly, sums up the issues as follows: “Through advances in medical technology, some patients affected by incurable or fatal diseases or whose life is in serious danger can now be kept alive by artificial means. Sometimes a patient may desire such treatment because it is a temporary measure potentially leading to the restoration of health. At other times, such treatment may seem undesirable because it may only prolong the process of dying rather than restore the patient to an acceptable quality of life. As long as a patient is mentally competent, he or she can be consulted about desired treatment. When a patient has lost the capacity to communicate, however, the situation is different.”
He also explains that the term “living will” refers to a written document in which a person of full age and capacity expresses in advance his or her will, so that it can be taken into account in situations in which the person is no longer able to express it him- or herself. It can deal with the types of healthcare and treatment that the person would like to receive while he or she is alive and also with the use of his or her body and organs once he or she is dead. The person who writes the living will can also designate a representative to inform the doctors or the medical team of his or her will when he or she is no longer able to express it.
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Programme of the hearing
Motion for a resolution on “Living wills and the protection of health and human rights”
The hearing is open to the press. It is being held at the Council of Europe Office in Paris (55, avenue Kléber, métro Boissière).
Press contact: Micaela Catalano, Head of PACE Communication Division, tel. 06 08 56 40 65; e-mail: [email protected]