Every life is uniquely valuable, and every decision made regarding your life should be respected and protected. This is the reason why this Act came into being.
Patient Right to Autonomy Act is the first patient-centered act. It is clearly stated in the act that every patient has the right to know, to choose and to decide personal medical decisions. For those who have made their decisions and later fall into a coma or become too ill to make decisions, their autonomous wills will be protected by the law and carried out.
You can also make your medical decisions through an Advance Directive (AD). When your health condition deteriorates and meets the five clinical statuses (e.g., end of life stage, persistent vegetative state, and etc.), you can decide if you wish to prolong your life through medical interference or choose to receive palliative care to ensure a quality death.
Through this expression of patients’ medical choice, autonomy and dignity are being respected while the right of a good death is being protected. Patients, family members and the medical team can all learn to understand the patients’ true desires via Advance Care Planning (ACP). This will help achieve the harmony between doctor-patient relationships, and also alleviate the grief and loss. By returning the right of decision-making back to the patients, this also eases the guilt for the bereaved and helps them to realize they are helping their loved ones by supporting their decisions.
In addition, this Act provides medical professionals a clear legal basis to follow when the five clinical status mentioned in the act are encountered.