This article has been written by kumari sheetal , a 4th year BALLB student from SRMS college of law , bareilly mjp rohelkhand university .
NTRODUCTION
The right to life has been expanded broadly over time by judiciary which is given under article 21 of the Indian constitution . but right to die remained a contentious issue in case like the maneka Gandhi case and the francis corallie case . the issue of right to die is raised before the Bombay high court in the case of maruti sripati dubal 1987 which was filed to include ‘right to die’ being fundamental right.
EUTHANASIA
There are two types of euthanasia
- Active euthanasia – this simply means taking life of a person by an overt act that is doctor administering lethal injection . which means an act is done due to the person is liberated from the suffering .
- Passive euthanasia – this simply means doing an covert act instead of overt act , which means doing an omission instead of doing an act , that is withholding or withdrawing the treatment
- Voluntary euthanasia: Under this, euthanasia is carried out with the patient’s consent.
- Non-voluntary euthanasia: Under this, patients are unable to give consent (coma or severely brain-damaged), and another person takes this decision on behalf of the patient.
- Involuntary euthanasia: Euthanasia is done against the will of the patient, and this is considered murder.
Arguments in favor of euthanasia –
- Postponing death is unwise and in humane when that condition is having zero chances of recovery
- The family members are relieved of the physical , mental and financial pressure
- The patient can get relief from the issue of care giver guilt with euthanasia
Arguments against the concept of euthanasia –
- The prediction of a terminal diagnosis is rarely accurate
- There can be issues with consent when looking at euthanasia
- Euthanasia medicine does not always deliver on its promised result
- Euthanasia could allow people to choose death for reasons that go beyond an illness
- High chances of commercialization taking place
- Easy resort for poor people to avoid financial burden of medication
- Old and destitute people can often be easy targets .
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE
Assisted dying can take two forms: euthanasia or assisted suicide. Broadly, euthanasia describes the situation where the person who is asking for assistance to die has someone else take the action that leads to their unnatural death (like injecting a lethal drug), and assisted suicide is when the person is prescribed drugs that they must take themselves in order to die.
More technically, euthanasia is when the attending medical or nurse practitioner, takes an action with the singular intention of causing a patient’s death Generally, this is in the form of a lethal injection.
Assisted suicide is when a suicide is intentionally aided by the attending medical or nurse practitioner and the person self-administers the medication.That is, the medical practitioner will prescribe a lethal drug which the patient will usually take orally.
However, it is important to note that “both practices are distinct from the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment in accord with accepted ethical and medical standards”.Also, “Do Not Resuscitate” orders are already legal in New Zealand and not included in this Bill.
In the Netherlands and Belgium, both euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are legal.In Germany, euthanasia is illegal while physician-assisted suicide is legal.Both euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are illegal in India, Australia, Israel, Canada and Italy
Netherlands was the first country to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide in April 2002. According to a Guardian report, the country had issued strict guidelines and conditions, including that “the patient must be suffering unbearable pain, their illness must be incurable and the demand must be made in “full consciousness” by the patient.”
DOES ARTICLE 21 INCLUDES RIGHT TO DIE?
This question came before the court in state of maharshtra v. maruti sripati dubal in which it was held that the right to life is guaranteed under article 21 includes the right to die and the high court struck down section 309 of Indian penal code which provides the punishment for attempt to commit suicide by a person as unconstitutional
In the case of gian kaur v. state of Punjab it was held that right to life under article 21 of the constitution of India does not include right to die .
Section 309 of the Indian penal code states
309. Attempt to commit suicide.—Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the commission of such offence, shall he punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year 1[or with fine, or with both].
Article 21 of the Indian constitution states –
Protection of life and personal liberty No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law
ARUNA RAMACHANDRA SHANBAUG V. UNION OF INDIA 2011
In this case aruna shanbaug working as head nurse at king Edward memorial hospital at Bombay who was sexually assaulted by a ward boy of the same hospital because of which the oxygen supply to her brain was disrupted as a result she entered in a permanent state of koma for 42 years and there was no one to take care of her as guardian , she was given a permanent bed in the king Edward memorial hospital then a social activist pinki virani file a petition in the supreme court under article 32 stating to allow euthanasia to aruna shanbaug . the supreme court held that the plea for euthanasia always be came from parents , spouse , close relatives or through near friend . since pinki virani was not falling in any of these her plea for euthanasia was not accepted but the court take action and made a team of doctors to check the condition of aruna shanbaug and submit the report to the supreme court . the supreme court allowed passive euthanasia provided the staff of the king Edward memorial hospital should agree .
COMMON CAUSE (A REGISTERED SOCIETY) V. UNION OF INDIA
In this case it was held that right to die with dignity is a fundamental right an individual’s right to execute advance medical directives is an assertion of the right to bodily integrity and self determination and does not depend on any recognition or legislation by a state legislation
P RATHINAM V. UNION OF INDIA 1994
In this case very interesting reasoning is laid down stating whether right to die is included in right to life under article 21 or not then it was held that fundamental rights have their positive as well as negative aspects . for example freedom of speech and expression includes freedom of not to speak so it must follow that the right to life will include right not to live that is right to die.
Conclusion
Hence it can be concluded with the above discussions that in present scenario of India the right to life includes the right to die but for that we have to follow the guidelines laid down in aruna shanbaug case and it is allowed in rare cases and not in every situation . also the active euthanasia is still not allowed in India , in india only passive euthanasia is allowed .
References
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1501595/
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1199182/
https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/right-to-life-article-21/
https://thewire.in/health/passive-euthanasia-now-a-legal-reality-in-india
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