A patient who had undergone gastric cancer surgery was admitted to the oncology department of a hospital in Beijing. The hospital provided palliative care such as pain relief and asthma relief, including injections of morphine, but the patient eventually died of respiratory failure. Six months later, the patient's family sued the hospital, claiming that the doctor "overused morphine" and demanded compensation. Recently, the court rejected all the plaintiff's claims and ruled in favor of the hospital. 

In this case, the patient's death was caused by the severity of the illness, not by the overuse of morphine, which is the basic fact. The World Health Organization has proposed that every person at the end of life has the right to receive high-quality hospice care, and opioids such as morphine are listed as the first-choice or essential drugs for cancer pain relief and palliative care. When a patient with rapidly failing health suffers unimaginable pain, how can a doctor stand by? Providing palliative care and making every effort to alleviate pain reflects the humanistic care of medicine. A fair judgment has a profound impact on upholding the dignity of life. 

In the global ranking of quality of death, China ranks relatively low. China's population accounts for about 20% of the global population, but its morphine consumption is less than 5% of the global total. This means that many dying patients who should have used morphine do not receive adequate medication and can only die in pain. Why? First, social concepts lag behind. Many people believe that for patients with advanced tumors, "rescue at all costs" is necessary. Clinically, emphasizing treatment over pain relief, and life length over quality of life, has become a common phenomenon. Second, legal support is insufficient. Many doctors, fearing lawsuits, have to take excessive self-protective measures. Even if patients are in extreme pain at the end of life, they dare not use "sensitive drugs" like morphine, because once a legal dispute occurs, it is easy for judicial appraisal institutions to determine that "morphine was used carelessly" and hold them legally responsible. The combination of these two factors has led to the slow development of palliative care in China and the poor quality of life for dying patients. 

In the American film "Hacksaw Ridge," battlefield doctors, upon encountering severely injured patients, always ask, "This is morphine, do you need a shot?" When they receive an affirmative answer, the doctor injects morphine into the wounded. The World Health Organization advocates treating death as a natural process, neither deliberately accelerating nor delaying its arrival. As oncology doctors, they often face patients who "cannot die but cannot live well." When curing the disease is no longer possible, should doctors futilely fight against death or adopt pain relief as the treatment principle? This is a medical issue, but also a social one. Albert Schweitzer, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, once said, "To give patients a moment of peace before death will be the sacred and new mission of doctors." Times are progressing, and concepts are updating. Allowing late-stage cancer patients to pass away peacefully and with dignity should gradually become a consensus in society. 

In fact, curing is never the sole purpose of medicine. When a disease cannot be cured, helping and comforting patients is a more important duty for doctors. For patients with advanced tumors, death is an irreversible outcome. Doctors taking palliative measures to make their passing as comfortable as possible not only serves the best interests of the patient but also complies with ethical standards. Clinically, many medical interventions have both clear effectiveness and unavoidable harm. When doctors face a "double effect," their actions, as long as they align with the patient's best interests, can be ethically justified. This is a globally accepted principle. 

Medicine is an expression of human kindness. Facing the uncertainty of medicine, doctors have significant "discretion." Right and wrong, good and evil, depend on the heart, and doctors are also called a "profession of conscience." Sometimes, a risky treatment plan, although not in line with treatment guidelines, can miraculously save a patient's life; sometimes, the flexible use of a drug, although beyond the scope of the instructions, can improve the quality of a patient's life. Medicine is an exploratory discipline; we cannot be rigid or blindly worship authority, otherwise, progress is impossible. As long as doctors have a heart of great love and put the patient's interests first, even if unexpected results occur, society should offer understanding and support. If there is a lack of a tolerant social environment, doctors will be hesitant, overly self-protective, and dare not take any risks for patients, ultimately harming the patients themselves. 

Birth, aging, illness, and death are natural laws. When you are about to reach the end of life, if you hope to receive dignified care, please protect the kindness of doctors!