The legislative body of Shenzhen, Guangdong province, recently passed a revised medical regulation, stipulating that medical institutions that receive living wills from patients with certain conditions or from their close relatives should honor it.

A living will is a document signed by a person who is conscious and in good health to declare in advance what kind of medical care he or she would want or not want should they suffer from an incurable disease in the future. Living wills thus give patients control over their end-of-life care, while ridding their kin of the pressure of making such difficult decisions.

The stipulation will set a precedent for the legislation on making living wills in China. The development marks a substantial breakthrough since the time some individuals first introduced living wills in China in 2005. It also means that in terms of legislation, Shenzhen is not far behind many developed countries in practicing individuals' self decision-making rights for medical treatment.

The concept of making a living will was introduced in the United States in 1967. According to a 2020 Gallup poll, 45 percent of American adults have a living will. The legislation for living wills provides legal protection for patients' right to make self-treatment decisions at the end of life.

However, a living will requires individuals to have the ability to make such a will, so a lot remains to be done before the concept can be promoted. According to Beijing Living Will Promotion Association, after advocating the concept for 20 years, just over 50,000 people have filled out living wills on its website.

The biggest obstacle is the taboo on discussing death in Chinese society and culture. Society will need to break away from this taboo for this concept to catch on.

In the US, a solution was found by creating greater awareness, with more medical schools offering death courses, and even primary and secondary schools offering death education to students.

The premise of making a living will is to know one's worth. Only when one knows how to live a meaningful life for oneself can he or she make a choice he or she wants to make. Medical practitioners who deal with patients should respect the wishes of dying patients.