Wang Mingcheng, the man who triggered China's first euthanasia case
in 1986, now wants to die by the same means.
Wang, a resident of Hanzhong in Northwest China's Shaanxi
Province, has been suffering from cancer since November
2000.
"Wang was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November 2000 and then
underwent an operation to remove three-quarters of his stomach in
our hospital. Wang also suffers from heart disease, hepatitis B,
asthma and a heart condition, which make Wang very weak," said Liu
Xiansheng, a doctor at a hospital where Wang is staying in Xi'an,
the capital of Shaanxi Province.
In
November 2002, Wang was diagnosed to be also suffering from liver
cancer from which he does not think he will recover. On February 4,
he asked the hospital to carry out euthanasia for him, but was
refused because this practice remains illegal, the doctor said.
"I
cannot bear the suffering and want to die in the same way as my
mother," Wang said with a weak voice from his hospital bed.
Wang's demand for euthanasia is all the more significant as he was
the main person in an euthanasia case which was the first in China
some 17 years ago.
In
early 1986, Xia Suwen, Wang's mother, who suffered from cirrhosis
of the liver, was sent to hospital and her condition failed to
improve after various medical treatments. On June 25, Wang asked
the doctor to carry euthanasia on his mother in order to stop her
suffering, but the doctor refused.
"I
consulted many doctors for many times asking if my mother could
recover, but they said there was no hope. And I could not bear to
see my mother's suffering from the disease," Wang recalled.
Wang and his sister then urged Pu Liansheng, the doctor in charge
of his mother to carry out euthanasia to their mother, and later
the doctor agreed.
Xia Suwen passed away after receiving an injection of wintermin on
June 29, 1986 in the hospital, becoming the first case of
euthanasia in China.
After Xia's death, the Hanzhong Municipal Public Security Bureau
started investigations and in September, Pu Liansheng and Wang
Mingcheng were arrested for murder and the local procuratorate
charged the two.
After reporting the case to the Supreme People's Court and in
accordance with the suggestion from it, the local court found Pu
and Wang not guilty on April 6, 1991.
Wang Honglin, a legal expert who worked on Pu and Wang's case, said
that euthanasia is good for patients who have no hope of recovery
and endure great suffering. He appealed for euthanasia to be
legalized in order to limit any further suffering.
(China Daily June 9, 2003)