네덜란드 적극적안락사 및 의사조력자살 허용 법률의 함의와 의미 - 의사 단체의 역할과 의사의 주의 의무 요건을 중점으로-

Demands for self-determination regarding one’s own death are growing in civil society. This has led to discussions on legal and ethical legitimacy, as well as social discourse on establishing a legal system that reflects Korea’s cultural context and medical reality. The act of a doctor assisting a patient in dying is fundamentally different from traditional medical practices, such as maintaining and restoring health. Physician-assisted suicide remains a topic with difficult religious, philosophical, and ethical justifications, and a clear answer remains elusive. This paper examines the legislative background of the Netherlands’ “End-of-Life and Assisted Suicide Review Act” (hereafter, the “Euthanasia Act”), the first country in the world to legalize physician-assisted suicide, and examines the legal framework of the relevant laws. Physician-assisted suicide raises fundamental questions about the appropriateness of physicians as a means of realizing patients’ autonomy regarding their own death. Medicine and the law must establish norms for this new form of medical practice and establish laws and systems related to physician-assisted suicide that protect those involved in the process. This study specifically examines the interpretation of the duty of care that physicians must adhere to, which exempts physicians from punishment for assisting suicide, as stipulated in Article 2 of the Dutch Euthanasia Act. By examining the Dutch model, we focused on the role of the medical community and the physician’s duty of care required when implementing physician-assisted suicide, drawing implications. We also proposed legislative directions for key related issues, ensuring that future legislation on physician-assisted suicide takes into account Korea’s cultural specificities and current medical conditions.