Institutional and systematic construction of living wills： exploration through rights configuration and procedural guarantees in the pre-， peri- and post-event stages
10.12026/j.issn.1001-8565.2026.06.05
- VernacularTitle:生前预嘱的制度性体系化建构——以事先、事中、事后权利设置与程序保障为探寻线
- Author:
Linxia WU
1
;
Ping WANG
1
Author Information
1. Beijing University of Chinese Medicine School of Humanities， Beijing 102488， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
living will;
life-sustaining medical decision;
institutional and systematic construction
- From:
Chinese Medical Ethics
2026;39(6):730-737
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
As the autonomy of patients in life-sustaining medical decisions has received increasing attention， the living will system has been gradually implemented worldwide and has demonstrated its significance. Meanwhile， discussions on living wills in China have also become increasingly fervent. The revised Medical Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone came into effect in January 2023， and Article 78 thereof represented the first legislative attempt on living wills in China. Nevertheless， its provisions remain relatively simple， making it difficult to form a complete and effective institutional system in both substantive and procedural terms. Furthermore， as a local regulation， the Medical Regulations of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone could not exert a nationwide effect. The transition of living wills from concept to institution requires a series of elaborate and comprehensive construction， as well as integration and coordination with the existing legal system. Therefore， this paper adopted a timeline approach to construct the rights configuration and procedural protection of living wills in three stages of pre-event， peri-event， and post-event. While examining and drawing on relevant provisions， it also incorporated China’s current family-centered medical practice to explore the institutional and systematic construction of living wills in China.
