A husband's refusal to sign off on a caesarean operation for his wife finally led to the death of the woman along with the baby in her womb. This tragedy, which happened a couple of days ago in a Beijing hospital, is still under the spotlight of local media.

The mother of the dead woman who arrived in Beijing on Saturday said she had already drafted a lawsuit against both her son-in-law, Xiao Zhijun, who she blames for taking away the lives of her daughter and grandchild for not signing his name at the last minute; and the hospital, which despite having adequate professional know-how failed to proceed with the operation merely because they could not get a nod from the husband.

"My daughter would not have died if he (Xiao) had signed the signature. It is no different from a murder", the mother was quoted as saying by Beijing News, a local media outlet. She said she would further discuss in detail the autopsy examination and lawsuit procedures with the dead girl's father, who is still making his way to Beijing.

In response, a legal counselor at the hospital expressed that "the hospital had done their duty as they did clearly inform the relatives about how serious the results would be if the woman did not receive the operation", quoted from Sunday's report in the Oriental Morning Post.

A relevant official from the Municipal Health Bureau, also said in relation to the issue of responsibility, that the hospital did its best considering the fact that the patient's relative was present, however he refused the treatment.

This tragedy has stirred up heated debate among the public. Some point their finger at the nation's existing management system in medical institutions, saying it's ridiculous to obey the rigid rule "no permission, no operation" at the expense of a human life. They stress, that doctors are obligated to help the sick or dying, and the law should always be human-centered, otherwise there is no point in observing it.

Meanwhile, Professor Sun Dongdong from the Law School of Beijing University indicated that the real problem does not come from flawed laws and regulations. It is related government departments who should rethink their perception of a doctor's right and obligation to save human life.

Management regulations at medical institution state that a hospital should perform an operation on a patient after the treatment proposed has been either approved by people in charge of the medical institution; when it cannot get approval from the patient or relative; or in the case of emergency.

The regulations also say that any measures to save a dying person in an emergency cannot be considered a medical accident.

Professor Sun also stressed that a patient's doubt about treatment is a big impediment to doctors' fulfillment of their duties. According to existing laws, doctors are entitled and obligated to save a patient's life when relatives of the patient made the wrong decision and there's an emergency. However, because of escalating doubt over medical treatment and inappropriate law practices, it is quite difficult to make this a reality.

(CRI November 25, 2007)