PASSIVE EUTHANASIA

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Picture Courtesy: https://www.livelaw.in/articles/stance-euthanasia-india-265131

Context:

The Supreme Court has turned down a petition to form a medical board for the Harish Rana case of passive euthanasia.

About Passive Euthanasia

• Euthanasia is the practice of willingly ending an individual's life to free them from life-long suffering. 
• It can be classified into;
  • • Active Euthanasia involves giving a deadly dose of medicine.
    • Passive Euthanasia involves withdrawing or removing life-support systems. 

Status of Passive Euthanasia in India. 

Aruna Shanbaug Case (2011)

• Aruna Shanbaug was a nurse who was brutally assaulted in 1973.
• She spent decades in a vegetative state. 
  • • Vegetative State (VS) is a condition where a person has critical brain damage but remains alive. 
    • In this state, Individuals are awake but lack awareness of themselves or their surroundings. 
• A petition in the Supreme Court to end Shanbaug’s life-supporting treatment was rejected by the Court.
• The Court refused to withdraw her life support but legalised passive euthanasia under specific circumstances. 

• This case became the first judicial acknowledgement of passive euthanasia in India.

Common Cause Case (2018)

• This case challenged the legal framework established by the Supreme Court in the Aruna Shanbaug case. 
• The petitioners requested the court to formulate clear guidelines and the recognition of the rights of the patients to refuse life-sustaining treatment through advance directives. 
• The Court allowed for the creation of “living wills” where individuals can disclose their wishes related to life support in advance. 
• This judgement highlighted that passive euthanasia is a legal practice, aligning with the right to die with dignity under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Method to implement passive euthanasia

• Withdrawal or stopping of equipment used for life support systems; such as ventilators or dialysis machines that are keeping the patient alive. 
  • • For example, if a person is on a ventilator and their condition is terminal with no chance of recovery, the medical team might decide to turn off the ventilator.
• Discontinuing the treatment of a long-term life-threatening disease which even after treatment does not show any improvement or no chance for improvement in future.
  • • For example, for a long time, a patient with a serious illness condition from a long time life-threatening health issue is not given further treatment.

Must Read Articles: 

Ensuring Dignity For The Terminally Ill

Source: 

Indian Express

BBC

Wikipedia

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Consider the following statements: 1. A living will is a legal document that allows an individual to specify their wish to withdraw life support if they fall into a terminally ill condition. 2. Passive euthanasia involves administering a lethal injection to end the patient's life. 3. Active euthanasia refers to the withdrawal of medical treatments to allow a natural death. 4. Both passive and active euthanasia are legally recognized in India. How many of the above statements are incorrect? A) Only one B) Only two C) Only three D) All four Answer: C Explanation: Statement 1 is correct:  A living will allows people to express their medical care and life support preferences in the event of incapacity, it includes instructions for discontinuing or withholding life-sustaining treatment if they are critically ill or in a persistent vegetative state. Statement 2 is incorrect: Passive euthanasia involves withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatments, such as ventilators or feeding tubes, allowing the patient to die naturally. Statement 3 is incorrect: Active euthanasia involves taking direct action to end a patient's life, such as administering a lethal dose of medication. Statement 4 is incorrect: In India, only passive euthanasia is legally recognised under specific circumstances, as ruled by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Aruna Shanbaug v/s Union of India (2011).  Active euthanasia remains illegal and is considered a criminal offence under Indian law.