Passive Euthanasia

Passive Euthanasia

HOT ISSUES FOR MAINSTOPIC #5(SecureIas Initiative)

• SC in its recent judgement on the NGO Common cause petition upholds the right of an individual to die with dignity and hence allowed passive euthanasia but told that strict guidelines to be made before it is allowed.SC also came up with the concept of living will.Before giving passive euthanasia, It should be varied at various levels that a person can’t be brought back into normalcy
• Euthanasia, in the simplest terms, is mercy killing for those patients for whom there is no end to their pain. Passive euthanasia is the removal of medical treatment to hasten the death of terminally ill patients.Active euthanasia is defined as taking an immediate action such as using lethal injection to painlessly put a terminally-ill patient to death. Passive euthanasia allows the patient to die naturally and is often considered more acceptable.In Aruna Shahbaug case the Supreme Court allowed passive Euthanasia
• Aruna Shanbaug is an Indian nurse who spent around 40 years in a vegetative state as a result of a sexual assault.
• NEED = since medical science has progressed so the treatment of any patient can be taken to very end causing unnecessary sufferings to the person + way to relieve extreme pain + avoid unnecessary financial burden on family + vital organs can save life of many + Dignity of death is part of living
• CONS = mercy killing is morally incorrect + misused or law legalising euthanasia can be abused
• Living will is a document made by a person in a conscious state of mind about the course of action if he reaches in a vegetative state.A person can make a living will in normal, doubtful,hereditary disease,persistent medical illness etc
• NO legislation till now( medical treatment of terminally ill patient bill 2016 (MTTP))

By: Sugam Bansal