In an appeal trial ruling for doctor Yoshikazu Okubo (46), who was charged with assisted suicide and another type of murder for administering drugs to a woman who suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable disease that gradually weakens the muscles of the entire body, at the request of the doctor, he killed her. The Osaka High Court (Judge Nagai Hidenori, presiding) on the 25th upheld the Kyoto District Court’s first-instance ruling of 18 years in prison and dismissed the defense’s appeal. There was no dispute over the facts surrounding the woman’s death in the first and second trials, and the main issue was whether the charge of assisted suicide could be applied. During the appeal hearing, the defense argued that the act of taking one’s own life is guaranteed by Article 13 of the Constitution, which is said to include personal dignity and the right to self-determination. He had pleaded not guilty, arguing that applying the charge of assisted suicide to acts performed at the woman’s request was unconstitutional. The first-instance ruling in March pointed out that the right to self-determination is premised on the individual’s survival. The court ruled that simply because one is facing fear or pain, it does not immediately derive from Article 13 of the Constitution any “right to seek assistance from others in ending one’s own life.” He then pointed out that he was not the woman’s personal doctor, but rather that he had met her through a social networking service, and that “he killed her in around 15 minutes, which is unlikely to have allowed for a thorough examination or for her wishes to be confirmed.” The court also mentioned that the defendant had received a reward of 1.3 million yen, and ruled that the reward was “not socially acceptable,” and found the defendant guilty of murder for hire. According to the first-instance ruling, on November 30, 2019, defendant Okubo killed ALS patient Yuri Hayashi (then 51 years old) at her home in Kyoto City by administering drugs through a gastrostomy tube. In March 2011, he murdered Yasushi Yamamoto (then 77 years old), the father of his acquaintance, former doctor Naoki Yamamoto (47). He was found to have conspired with Yamamoto in both cases. Yamamoto was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the murder of his father, and is currently appealing the charge of solicited murder. [Tsuchida Akihiko] [Mainichi Shimbun] 2024/11/25 (Mon) 10:51.
>>18 There are countries like Belgium and the Netherlands where euthanasia is permitted for people with mental illness even if they are physically healthy.
>>35 I saw a story on Instagram about someone who was diagnosed with terminal cancer and then fasted for 40 days and was cured. It might be worth a try.
Right now, I think that if I were to become bedridden or develop dementia, I would like to be euthanized, but if I actually got to that point, I’m sure I would want to live out of fear.
If medical professionals, who deal with lives and have the power over life and death, were to act in rebellion against current laws and ethical standards and this was tolerated, then there would no longer be any fundamental principles that we believe in at the core. In that sense, they would be treated almost like terrorists and the crimes would be more severe.
If there’s something you want to do, you’ll probably feel regretful that you can’t do it, but if there’s no hope, you’ll probably be bored and die, and I don’t think the person taking care of you is doing a productive job.
The punishment is too severe, but I guess it can’t be helped since he’s a professional killer. In the Kawasaki Kyodo Hospital case, he was the attending physician, so the sentence was suspended.
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