Editorial: Uphold the right to die with dignity
By remaining silent on such a crucial issue concerning the terminally ill patients, the union government is trying to abdicate its legislative responsibility and pass the buck to the judiciary
The right to death with dignity is equally important as the right to live. In a culturally sensitive and complex society like India, the debate surrounding euthanasia raises several ethical and legal questions. Not surprisingly, making laws on euthanasia or assisted dying is fraught with several dilemmas. For any government, the issue presents a minefield of ethical dilemmas. However, the harsh reality is that thousands of patients are stuck in vegetative states with absolutely no hope of recovery, burdening their families emotionally and financially. The absence of a law on euthanasia complicates the situation for terminally ill patients and their families. Moved by the heart-wrenching condition of a 31-year-old man who has remained in a vegetative state for the last 13 years, the Supreme Court recently directed the constitution of a secondary medical board at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to examine whether life support and treatment may be withdrawn from the patient who suffers from 100% disability quadriplegia. This may well become India’s first judicially sanctioned case of passive euthanasia. Once the AIIMS secondary board submits its opinion, the court will decide whether life support, including feeding tubes and clinically assisted hydration, may legally be withdrawn. The court’s approval could set a precedent, clarifying safeguards against abuse while honouring end-of-life choices. “We can’t allow him to live like this. That’s for sure,” said the two-member bench of the apex court, taking note of the heart-wrenching condition of Harish Rana, who had slipped into a coma after falling from a building.
The patient’s parents have approached the court twice in the last two years, seeking passive euthanasia for him. The case brings back bitter memories of a haunting tragedy involving Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse who spent 42 years in a vegetative state after a horrific sexual assault at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital in 1973. The case triggered widespread outrage and compelled the nation to confront the question of passive euthanasia. Her case became a moral trigger that led to a landmark judgement in 2018 when a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court legalised passive euthanasia, recognising the right to die with dignity as a fundamental right in the spirit of Article 21. The recognition of an individual’s right to exercise bodily autonomy is a sign of maturity in any evolved society. This verdict reflected sensitivity and maturity. Later, in 2023, the SC further simplified these guidelines, requiring assessments by primary and secondary medical boards. The court had pulled up the Centre for failing to enact a law on passive euthanasia in accordance with its 2018 judgement upholding the right to death with dignity. By remaining silent on such a crucial issue concerning the terminally ill patients, the union government is trying to abdicate its legislative responsibility and pass the buck to the judiciary.
