"If you were faced with the same choice back then, would you still stick to the same approach? "I'm not going to take any risks for something illegal, no matter what the cost. ”
In April 2001, a CCTV talk show interviewed a man named Pu Liansheng. In August 2003, this visit was made public, which aroused widespread attention and heated discussions in the whole society.
Pu Liansheng, the executive doctor of China's first case of "euthanasia", talked about a series of questions about "euthanasia" in an interview. His behavior is evaluated very differently in the eyes of different people: in the eyes of the patient's son and youngest daughter, he is a "great benefactor"; But in the eyes of the other two daughters and hospital colleagues, he is a "murderer" and a "madman".
Why did Pu Liansheng choose to perform "euthanasia", and what happened to him after the execution? To this day, there is still controversy about whether "euthanasia" should be legalized.
Wang Mingcheng, the person involved in two cases of "euthanasia", his experience provides us with some food for thought.
In 1986, an ordinary person, Wang Mingcheng, became the focus of attention in Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province and even the whole of China because of a bold decision.
His decision was to ask the doctor to perform "euthanasia" for his biological mother, which was also the first "euthanasia" incident in China. He never regretted such a choice, and even when he was suffering from stomach cancer and his life was coming to an end, he still hoped to "euthanize" for himself.
And all this stems from his understanding and respect for life. He believes that the most important thing in life is not the length of life, but the quality of life. He didn't want to lose his dignity and self under the torture of illness.
Therefore, he chose "euthanasia" to respect his life and that of his mother in this way. Although "euthanasia" has not been legalized in our country, his choice has sparked a discussion about the dignity and rights of life.
His story makes people think about the nature and meaning of life, and how to make their own choices in the face of life and death. In this world, everyone has the right to choose their own way of life.
Wang Mingcheng's choice allows us to see his respect for life and understanding of human nature. His story makes us understand that the value of life does not lie in the length of life, but in the quality of life.
Suffering from cancer, Wang Mingcheng went to the Second Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University again in early 2003. Unable to endure the pain, he found the attending doctor to express his wish for "euthanasia".
However, the doctor was surprised by his idea and firmly objected, telling him "no, no". Although the doctor then reassured him to be strong, for Wang Mingcheng, enduring pain was not what he hoped for.
Therefore, he wanted to die with dignity, and "euthanasia" was his only option. In order to get the hospital to agree to his request, he again proposed "euthanasia" in June 2003, revealing the identity of his mother, Xia Suwen, the first patient in China to receive euthanasia.
He pleaded with the doctors to grant his request.
17 years ago, that incident is a thing of the past, and many people still know about Xia Suwen. Xia Suwen did perform euthanasia, but the doctor who agreed to perform it for her had done so**.
At the same time, Xia Suwen's son Wang Mingcheng was also involved in it. In China, this is illegal, and there are lessons to be learned, so the doctor did not dare to agree to his request.
A month later, Wang Mingcheng, who was skinny, held his wife's hand and said: "I finally understand why my mother chose euthanasia in the first place, this pain is unbearable." ”
After two rejections, he knew that "euthanasia" was not possible, so he gave up the struggle and lay in bed waiting for death. On the evening of August 2, 2003, Wang Mingcheng, who had returned to the light, held his wife's hand again and babbled something.
Half a month after Wang Mingcheng's death, CCTV broadcast an exclusive interview**, in which Dr. Pu Liansheng was interviewed as Xia Suwen's "euthanasia" executive doctor. Wang Mingcheng's wife, Wu Lirong, fully supported all his decisions, including euthanasia.
Although the vice president of the hospital was sympathetic, he could not agree to Wang Mingcheng's request due to the law and hospital regulations. Although euthanasia has not been legalized, Wang Mingcheng firmly believes that it will eventually be legislated.
His written application aroused great attention from the hospital, and in the process of reporting to the superiors, we also held a special meeting for in-depth discussion. However, due to the reality of our country, the execution of "euthanasia" for patients without legal recognition will lead to legal sanctions for hospitals.
Although Wang Mingcheng repeatedly applied, he was ultimately unable to do so. But his unremitting efforts have made "euthanasia" a hot topic in society. After his death, many mainstream ** in China discussed this topic again, and Pu Liansheng is a figure who can never be avoided in this topic.
He is a pioneer in the field of "euthanasia" in China, and his life has also undergone earth-shaking changes in 1986. In an interview with CCTV, he wore a suit and deeply regretted his past decision.
So, what really happened in 1986?
Pu Liansheng: The first executive doctor of "euthanasia", Wang Mingcheng's parents divorced when he was a child, and he lived with his father and stepmother. However, his stepmother often abused him and his sister, while his father was indifferent to this, and only his mother Xia Suwen did her best to give him love and warmth.
Therefore, his mother's position in his heart is irreplaceable, and he vows to be filial to his mother when he has the ability. When Wang Mingcheng first started working, he only earned 43 yuan a month, but in addition to leaving 13 yuan for living expenses, he handed it all over to his mother, so in the eyes of relatives and friends, he was a veritable filial son.
In 84, Xia Suwen was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and ascites. Due to her advanced age and lack of timely medical treatment, her condition deteriorated rapidly, and after two years, she was almost always in the hospital.
And the pain caused by the aggravation of her condition made her wail night and night, and even her crying could be heard throughout the inpatient department. As the attending doctor, Pu Liansheng knew that her condition was serious, and he had nothing to do except for the continuous **.
But at this time, Xia Suwen had lost confidence in life, and the torture of difficulty sitting and lying down, poor urine, edema and bedsores made her lose the courage to live. On June 9, 1986, she woke up from a coma, held her son Wang Mingcheng's hand, and cried and said: "Son, I really can't live, let me go!" ”
Xia Suwen, who was powerless, could only expect her son's assistance, but her son Wang Mingcheng couldn't do it. Seeing his mother in pain, he could only cry silently in front of the hospital bed.
Although Xia Suwen was sometimes unconscious and sometimes awake, he always muttered "Let me go, let me go......In the end, Pu Liansheng told Wang Mingcheng and his youngest daughter Wang Xiaolin Xia Suwen's illness, saying that she had persevered to the limit, and there was no hope for the follow-up, so she could only resign herself to fate.
When they heard the news, they were deeply saddened. However, at this time, Wang Mingcheng suddenly remembered what his mother had said before, since it can't be saved, let her suffer less and get rid of it as soon as possible.
Wang Mingcheng had been thinking about how to alleviate his mother's pain until he suddenly remembered the word "euthanasia". He knew that this was a relatively unfamiliar concept, but he decided to tell Pu Liansheng about the idea, hoping that he could help his mother realize this wish.
However, Pu Liansheng rejected his proposal, believing that it was impossible to achieve under the current national conditions and policies. Wang Mingcheng did not give up, he told his sister about the idea, and asked for Pu Liansheng's help together.
In the end, on the night when Xia Suwen endured pain, the doctor on duty, Li Haihua, gave her **diazepam, but the effect was not ideal.
Xia Suwen's sorrow was like a sharp knife piercing Wang Mingcheng's heart, making him feel painful. In order for his mother to be relieved of her pain as soon as possible, he pulled his sister in Pu Liansheng's office and pleaded: "Director Pu, please let my mother be relieved as soon as possible, so that she can suffer less." ”
Moved by Wang Mingcheng's plea, Pu Liansheng began to think about whether it was worth it to let the patient live in pain. After careful consideration, he agreed to Xia Suwen's request for "euthanasia".
In order to carry out "euthanasia", Pu Liansheng prescribed 100 mg of compound hibernating ling, and noted below that the family requested "euthanasia", and obtained the signature consent of Wang Mingcheng and Wang Xiaolin.
However, just as the prescription was issued, the chief of the hospital found out about the use of this particular drug and firmly stated that there was no ** willing to carry it out.
In order to alleviate the patient's pain and satisfy the wishes of the family, Pu Liansheng decided to let the interns of the health school inject Xia Suwen with drugs. The intern initially refused, but Pu Liansheng used threats to force him to carry out.
Xia Suwen fell into a deep sleep after being injected with the drug and eventually stopped breathing. Although the last person to do it was not Pu Liansheng, he gave the order to carry out the order and witnessed the whole process at the scene.
Both the dean and the leadership were aware of this, and while they were not scared on the surface, the fear in their hearts was real. Pu Liansheng has been comforting himself, believing that his actions are for the good of the patient, not out of selfish interests.
Although Pu Liansheng was deeply remorseful for his actions, the first "euthanasia" incident still caused a sensation across the country.
Pu Liansheng's concept of "euthanasia" is not shared by everyone. For Wang Mingcheng and Wang Xiaolin, they are full of gratitude to Pu Liansheng, but Xia Suwen's other two daughters hate him.
They are rumored to have heard something and broke into the hospital on July 1 and made a fuss. They accused Xia Suwen's death of medical malpractice, and the hospital must give a reasonable explanation.
However, the hospital was unwilling to bear the blame, and Pu Liansheng did not dare to admit his responsibility. After the turmoil lasted for two days, Wang Mingcheng's eldest sister and second sister directly reported to the police.
On July 3, 1986, the local ** opened a case for investigation. **After the intervention, the truth of this "euthanasia" incident gradually surfaced. However, in the eyes of others, Pu Liansheng's concept of "euthanasia" is tantamount to intentional homicide.
The local prosecutor's office prosecuted the case. On September 20, Pu Liansheng, Wang Mingcheng, Wang Xiaolin, and Li Haihua, a doctor on the night shift the previous day, were all arrested. Although the exchange of information was not very convenient at the time, the case still caused a sensation across the country in a short time.
The topic of "euthanasia" has attracted widespread attention from the Chinese people, but people from all walks of life have different opinions on Pu Liansheng's behavior. Wang Xiaolin and Li Haihua were released shortly after, but Pu Liansheng and Wang Mingcheng spent 492 days in the detention center.
As the executive doctor of the first "euthanasia", Pu Liansheng firmly denied the charge of intentional homicide, believing that his actions were doing his duty as a doctor to alleviate the suffering of patients and were not negligent.
"I don't have a grudge against the patient, so why should I kill her," he said. However, the implementation of "euthanasia" without clear legislation is clearly a violation of the bottom line of morality and law.
Although Xia Suwen expressed her desire for early liberation when she was sober, she did not know the specific situation of "euthanasia".
Pu Liansheng and Wang Mingcheng used "euthanasia" as an excuse to inject **compound hibernation spirit into the patient. Although their original intention was to alleviate the suffering of their patients, their actions still caused huge controversy.
Seemingly well-intentioned mercy is not a justification for depriving an individual of his or her life. Therefore, they were acquitted, but the controversy over them will never stop. This case has also made people reflect on whether "euthanasia" is really a moral and legal act.
Xia Suwen's verdict is not in favor of "euthanasia", nor is it an encouragement to the public to perform "euthanasia". In fact, Xia Suwen died soon after suffering from hepatic encephalopathy, and the compound hibernation spirit did not directly cause her death, but deepened her lethargy.
In this case, the injection of a non-lethal dose of the drug to alleviate the patient's suffering is a circumstance that the court considers to be "significantly minor and not very harmful". Pu Liansheng's acquittal was purely coincidental, and if Xia Suwen was not near-dead at the time, or if the drug had reached a lethal dose, the case might have had a different outcome.
But in any case, the title of the first "euthanasia" executive doctor will always accompany him.
Pu Liansheng's story is shocking, and his actions have sparked a social controversy. Although he was not fired from the hospital, the alienation of his peers and relatives made him feel lonely.
Some people think that he is a "crazy man" who dares to deprive others of their lives, and this behavior has brought many negative effects to the Hanzhong Infectious Disease Hospital. In 2001, when CCTV interviewed Pu Liansheng, it interviewed the staff of the hospital.
They hate "euthanasia", which causes many patients to dare not come to this hospital again because they are afraid of being "euthanized" by doctors. In most people's minds, it's better to live than to die, and to live one minute more is a minute.
Although I can't hate Pu Liansheng as a person, I have to express my disgust at what he did.
Pu Liansheng confessed his regret after 15 years, believing that his decision was the worst. He experienced the warmth and warmth of human feelings and the pressure of reality, and realized that he could not take the risk of breaking the law until the country had legislated.
Pu Liansheng's case has become a lesson for his peers, and he firmly stated that even if the patient's family kneels down again, even if the other party holds 1 million, he will not repeat the same mistakes.
Euthanasia"The word is of Greek origin and means:"Happiness"But due to the different cultural backgrounds and legal policies of different countries, people have different understandings of this happiness.
In early April 2002, the Netherlands announced"Euthanasia"Legalization.
In this trend, Japan, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, and the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington have announced one after another"Euthanasia"legal, but for healthy people,"Euthanasia"No, it is only allowed for patients who are seriously ill and in extreme distress.
And the application process is cumbersome and rigorous. In China,"Euthanasia"Still considered intentional homicide, its controversy remains unsettled because it blurs the line with **. Therefore, we should be cautious from both an ethical and legal point of view"Euthanasia"。
Under this premise, everyone must abide by the law and never cross the line.