생명윤리적 쟁점에 대한 법적 규율과 그 한계 — 연명치료 중단, 장기구득 및 할당을 중심으로 —

Abstract

Law and Morality' is one of the most controversial topics of legal philosophy. The relation of law and morality should be discussed in order to define the concept of law, to investigate into the concept and source of legal validity, to inquire into the relation of law and legal ideals. Nowadays law and morality is discussed from the perspective of 'Law and Bioethics'. Bioethics as an applied ethics of life and death is not an independent science but a branch of interdisciplinary science. Law as a mechanism of coercive dispute resolution is necessary to solve problems including issues of Bioethics or Medical Ethics. Everyone should resort to law in order to resolve effectively bioethical disputes i.e. withdrawing or withholding of life-sustaining treatment, organ transplantation etc.

The issues of bioethics step into the realm of law suddenly through the so-called Shinchon Sevrance Hospital Case. The Case opened the discourse of bioethical issues in earnest. In the meantime, organ procurement & allocation has turned into one of legal issues with operation of 「Internal Organ, etc. Transplantation Act 2000」. It is anticipated that real disputes in relation to organ transplantation will happen sooner or later. Now issues of bioethics are switching from private, ethical problems to public, legal problems. In case of the realization of dispute, the intervention of court is unavoidable, but it does not produce good results. So it is necessary to recognize the limitations of legal regulation as well as it's necessity.