Advanced Medical Directive Act

The Advanced Medical Directive Act (AMD) is a document that you sign with the doctor, asking them not to use life-sustaining equipment in the event that you're terminally ill or in a coma.

This act enable people to decide on how their body will be treated when it is impossible recover again. It's generally known as a kind of act that ends the patient's sufferings, if any, that need to be taken to sustain their lives.

The AMD is different from euthanasia to some extent. Euthanasia is where the patient actively takes action to end his own life, often painlessly, while AMD serve the purpose of not sustaining the patient's life, having it end when it is time to. Euthanasia is a direct approach to end life, while AMD do it passively by stopping the aids to prolong people's live but not ending one's live in a faster way.

However, like euthanasia, the AMD also faces ethical issues. The family of the person may not agree with the choice, and insist on letting him live, in hope of a chance to heal him. Some feels that it is very unfair for the family members to suffer hardship while the patient passes to the other world, and taken this as a selfish act. However, is it considered selfish too for the family to hold the patient in our world for the famiy's own benefits, while making the patient suffer even more?

Modern technology in hospitals can only prolong the life, but it does not solve the problem. It cannot stop one from dying. Being terminally ill, the patient have to die one day as long as the illness is not cured. Some argues that we should cherish every second of our life, but in the case of being terminally ill until you are considering AMD, you often don't really get to do so. It will only add to your suffering to see your family members tearing due to your own sufferings.

I believe that the AMD can be fine-tuned to prevent abuse. The hospital should make sure that the patient had a serious discussion with the family members and need to have the family member coming into consent for the patient to sign the AMD. Knowing the reason for signing AMD is important to prevent abuse. This ensures that the family members' feelings are taken into account. Similarly, if the family thinks that the patient could not recover and decides to end his suffering, they should be given the right to sign the AMD too provided all of the members agree.