Euthanasia is derived from two Greek words, eu (good) and thantos (death). Encyclopedia of ‘Crime and Justice’, explains euthanasia as an act of death that will provide relief from a distressing or intolerable condition of living. The people sometimes request the doctor to perform euthanasia when they have been suffering from terminal illness and are in a lot of pain. The principal nations to sanction killing were the Netherlands in 2001 and Belgium in 2002.

Euthanasia is also termed as ‘dayamaran’ or ‘echchamaran’ to embrace death when they feel that they have achieved the purpose of their lives. Article 21 of the Constitution of India states “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law”. The question that arises is that whether Right to Life also includes Right to Die. The first time this question was raised in the case of State of Maharashtra v. Maruty Sripati Dubal, where it was declared that right to die comes under the periphery of right to life but was changed in later cases.

Death can be categorized basically into two kinds; natural & unnatural. Every person has the right to live his life according to his choice, but, there may be some situations when that same person wants to end their life. Again, for ending one’s life there are two ways; suicide and euthanasia. If the person attempts suicide and they are successful, then, the chapter ends, but, if they are unsuccessful, then, they would be liable for punishment under section 309 of IPC with simple imprisonment for a term or one year with fine.

Under Active Euthanasia, the death is caused when the medical professionals, or any other person, deliberately do some act. For example, injecting a dose of a lethal drug or overdosing the victim with some drug resulting in the death of the person. In case of Passive Euthanasia, death is caused when neither the medical professionals don’t do anything necessary to keep the patient alive, nor they stop giving the treatment which is required to keep him alive. Instead of unnecessary suffering, why can’t a person die with their own consent? The apex court of India in the case of Aruna Shanbaug gave the judgment declaring that passive euthanasia is now legal in India[1].

In the case of voluntary euthanasia, there is an express consent, choice & desire of the patient to end his life who is suffering from the incurable disease. Non-voluntary euthanasia occurs when a person’s life is ended, who is mentally incompetent to make any such decisions of his life. It is the family members who make the decision on that person’s behalf. One of the methods is also Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s death machine (mercitron, thanatron). It’s a unique method in which a person can end his life himself. With the use of this machine, a person can end his life himself painlessly at the time chosen by the patient[2].

In reference to Aruna Shanbaug case, how are 42 years on a bed better than death? Brutally raped, abandoned by parents, her life was completely ruined, and still doesn’t get approved for Euthanasia just because of her vegetative state[3]. Among Hindu’s there is difference of perspective present in the case of euthanasia. The one perspective says that the doctors who provide euthanasia, on the very first hand, should not accept such requests of the patient as it will lead to the unnatural death of the person separating his soul and body.

Due to this act, both the doctors and the patient karma will get harmed. Another set of people believe that the euthanasia should not be practiced as it is opposite to the concept of ahimsa which works on the principle of not killing anyone. However, there are third sects of Hindus who believe in the practice of euthanasia as they consider ending someone’s life who is in pain and trouble is a moral obligation of a person and by doing this an individual is accomplishing a good deed. In the case of Muslims, they do not believe in the concept of euthanasia. They believe that human and their life is very pious as it has been provided by the Allah and therefore only Allah has the right to take away someone’s life.

In 2017, India welcomed Mental Healthcare Act by de-criminalizing the “attempt to suicide”. Section 115 of the Act states “Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 309 of the IPC, any person who attempts to commit suicide shall be presumed to have severe stress and shall not be tried and punished under this Code; and the government is duty bound to provide care, treatment and rehabilitation to such a person in order to reduce the risk of recurrence of attempt to commit suicide.”[4]  

The main point of contention in this whole debate is whether a person who has the right to live also have the right to die according to his choice?  As of June 2021, euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and several states of Australia (Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia). According to me, people should have the choice to live their life as they want & if after a certain period of time, they feel that they do not want to live any more and they have achieved everything that they wanted, they should be allowed to go ahead with Euthanasia. Plus, according to me, euthanasia should be allowed only to the persons not below 45-50 years.

[1] Priyadeep Mahapatra- SHOULD EUTHANASIA BE LEGALIZED IN INDIA ?, Should Euthanasia be legalized in India ? – Aishwarya Sandeep, visited on 21-08-2021 at 16:40hrs.

[2] Bhavya Kumar- EUTHANASIA IN INDIA – 1 (BRIEF INTRODUCTION), EUTHANASIA IN INDIA – 1 (BRIEF INTRODUCTION) – Aishwarya Sandeep, visited on 21-08-2021 at 16:18hrs.

[3] Pranitavailaya- MY VIEW ON EUTHANASIA, My View on Euthanasia – Aishwarya Sandeep, visited on 21-08-2021 at 16:32hrs.

[4] Priyadeep Mahapatra- SHOULD EUTHANASIA BE LEGALIZED IN INDIA ?, Should Euthanasia be legalized in India ? – Aishwarya Sandeep, visited on 21-08-2021 at 17:00hrs.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

Do follow me on Facebook, Twitter  Youtube and Instagram.

The copyright of this Article belongs exclusively to Ms. Aishwarya Sandeep. Reproduction of the same, without permission will amount to Copyright Infringement. Appropriate Legal Action under the Indian Laws will be taken.

If you would also like to contribute to my website, then do share your articles or poems at adv.aishwaryasandeep@gmail.com

We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.

We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge