THE debate over end-of-life issues spilled over from the public arena into Parliament on Monday, when several MPs questioned Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on the controversial subject.
The minister started the public debate last month when he flagged the living wills, euthanasia and palliative care issues in his speeches.
He wanted people to prepare for eventualities before a crisis occurs. He urged them to sign living wills so their families would not be put in the difficult position of having to decide for them when the time comes.
Instead, it led to fears that Singapore was planning to introduce euthanasia, or mercy killing. Several religious leaders have openly opposed such a move, which they equate with murder.
Much of the debate in Parliament on Monday centred on confusion over the various terms.
Ms Ellen Lee (Sembawang GRC) said the confusion is greater when the subject is discussed in Chinese, as the term for euthanasia is 'comfortable death', so many mistake it for Advanced Medical Directives (AMD) or living wills.
Agreeing that AMD is a 'mouthful' and would benefit from a new name, the minister said such confusion is obvious in letters that have appeared in the Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao in recent weeks.
He said, 'It suggests to me that many of them have totally confused euthanasia with assisted suicide and AMD. These are three very different things.'
He told Madam Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC) who asked if Singapore was considering euthanasia, that the country was not ready for it. Euthanasia, or mercy killing, is legal only in Belgium and the Netherlands.
But there have been calls from the public recently for its introduction here.
Although he has no plans to legalise it, Mr Khaw said he welcomed the recent public debate on euthanasia.
'It has riased public awareness about palliative care and the frustrations of some terminally ill (patients)and their caregivers,' said the minister.
His ministry will help such people cope by providing greater support to the dying and their relatives. It includes training more doctors and nurses in this discipline - a concern raised by Dr Fatimah Lateef (Marine parade GRC) - and extending the capacity and reach of hospices and palliative care providers.
However he admitted that palliative care, which was recently recognised as a medical sub-specialty, is not popular among younger doctors because there 'isn't much money in it.' It is a worldwide problem, he noted.
To Dr Lam Pin Min (Ang Mo Kio GRC) who asked about the take-up rate for palliative care, Mr Khaw said last year, 4,200 patients were cared for at home and 1,200 were inpatients in hospices.
To Dr Lam's fear that a high acceptance of AMDs might reflect the feeling that cost of healthcare was too high to sustain life of the seriously ill, Mr Khaw said it should never be a numbers game.
Since the Act was passed in 1996, 10,100 people, or only 0.4 per cent of the population, have signed AMDs. Of them, 19 revoked them and six have been put into effect.
