Position of Euthanasia in India
Position of Euthanasia in India
Position of Euthanasia in India
Introduction
The term Euthanasia comes from two Ancient Greek words: ‘Eu’ means ‘Good’,
and ‘thantos’ means ‘death’, so Euthanasia means good death. It is an act or
practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or in an
incurable condition by injection or by suspending extra ordinary medical treatment
in order to free him of intolerable pain or from terminal illness.
Euthanasia is defined as an intentional killing by an act or omission of person
whose life is felt is not to be worth living. It is also known as ‘Mercy Killing’ which
is an act where the individual who, is in an irremediable condition or has no
chances of survival as he is suffering from painful life, ends his life in a painless
manner. It is a gentle, easy and painless death. It implies the procuring of an
individual’s death, so as to avoid or end pain or suffering, especially of individuals
suffering from incurable diseases.
Oxford dictionary defines it as the painless killing of a person who has an
incurable disease or who is in an irreversible coma.
According to the House of Lords select Committee on Medical Ethics, it is “a
deliberate intervention under taken with the express intention of ending life to
relieve intractable suffering”. Thus it can be said that Euthanasia is the deliberated
and intentional killing of a human being by a direct action, such as lethal injection,
or by the failure to perform even the most basic medical care or by withdrawing life
support system in order to release that human being from painful life.
According to Black’s Law Dictionary (8th edition) euthanasia means the act or
practice of killing or bringing about the death of a person who suffers from an
incurable disease or condition, esp. a painful one, for reasons of mercy.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Before discussing the legal position of euthanasia in India, let us try to find out its
historical background. The right to die or end one’s life is not something new or
unknown to human civilization. In ancient Greece and Rome helping others die or
putting them to death was considered permissible in some situations. For example,
in the Greek city of Sparta newborns with severe birth defects were put to death.
Voluntary euthanasia for the elderly was an approved custom in several ancient
societies. Many ancient texts including the Bible, the Koran and the Rig-Veda
mention self destruction or suicide. In India, the history of Vedic age is replete with
numerous examples of suicides committed on religious grounds.
The Mahabharata and the Ramayana are also full of instances of religious suicides.
Most Hindus would say that a doctor should not accept a patient's request for
euthanasia since this will cause the soul and body to be separated at an unnatural
time. The result will damage the karma of both doctor and patient. Other Hindus
believe that euthanasia cannot be allowed because it breaches the teaching of
ahimsa (doing no harm). However, some Hindus say that by helping to end a
painful life a person is performing a good deed and so fulfilling their moral
obligations. Govardana and Kulluka, while writing commentaries on Manu,
observed that a man may undertake the mahaprastha (great departure) on a journey
which ends in death when he is incurably diseased or meets with a great misfortune,
and that, it is not opposed to Vedic rules which forbid suicide.