 TOPIC – EUTHANASIA

 NAME – PALLAVI KAUSHAL

 CLASS - LLB
 SEMSETER - 2nd
 ROLL NO - BU2022UGLLB10

CONTENT

1. ABSTRACT
2. INTRODUCTION
3. TYPES OF EUTHANASIA
4. LIVING WILL
5. STATUS OF EUTHANASIA IN INDIA
6. STATUS OF EUTHANASIA IN OTHER COUNTRIES
7. ARGUMENTS ON EUTHANASIA
8. CASES RELATED TO EUTHANASIA IN INDIA
9. CASES RELATED TO EUTHANASIA IN OTHER COUNTRIES
10. CONCLUSION
 ABSTRACT
Pallavi kaushal 1

Euthanasia is the act of intentionally ending the life of a person who is suffering from a
terminal illness or an incurable condition, with the intention of relieving their pain and
suffering. Euthanasia elicits strong emotions as it is concerned with life and death issues.
Euthanasia has been practiced in most of the countries for more than twenty years and
focuses mainly on the fact that patient suffering ought to be prioritized over the patient life.
The quality of life shall be taken care of in critically ill patients. Euthanasia is not killing a
patient but allowing the critically ill person to end his life on his own wish to die peacefully.
This controversial topic is debated because it violates codes of medical ethics and patient care
which exists since antiquity. The euthanasia, its types, guidelines for implication in various
countries and perspectives in India are discussed in this article. Euthanasia is a debatable
issue. It is illegal all over the world. The Netherlands is the only country where euthanasia
and physician-assisted suicide are openly practiced since the physician performing these acts
will not be prosecuted under certain circumstances. There were several court cases and court
decisions that affected the development of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide in
individual countries. When a patient asked for euthanasia, it was very important to find out
the underlying reasons and make all legal means available to relieve the pain and other
distressing symptoms.2

1
Bahra University Waknaghat District –Solan ,Tehsil- Kandaghat
2
https://academic.oup.com/fampra/article-abstract/19/2/128/490935
 INTRODUCTION

“I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul3”

“William Ernest Henley”

The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings are entitled to and their
life or underdog voluntary euthanasia. In the case of Common Cause v. UOI 9 March 2018
4
the Supreme Court has given the legal right to euthanasia to a person suffering from an
incurable disease. The constitution bench has established that along with dignity, the right to
a dignified death is also a human right. Euthanasia is originally a Greek word. Which means
Eu=good, Thanatos=death. Debate continues around the world on euthanasia, euthanasia or
mercy killing5. Apart from legal, medical and social aspects are also associated with this
issue. The demand for allowing euthanasia has increased worldwide. It is defined according
to the clinical conditions. Legally Euthanasia has two types

TYPES OF EUTHANASIA:6

1. Passives Euthanasia:
Passive euthanasia refers to a process where an individual is intentionally obstructed from
living life. Whenever any artificial life support is withdrawn, such as a ventilator or feeding
tube, leading to the death of an individual, it comes under the ambit of passive euthanasia.
2. Active Euthanasia:
Active euthanasia refers to the act of killing an individual by employing any active means of
death. Some of the instances of active euthanasia involve injecting an individual with a fatal
drug dose, leading to death. Due to the means employed under active euthanasia, it is
sometimes also referred to as “aggressive euthanasia.”

3
Written by William Ernest Henley
4
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/184449972/
5
Euthanasia - Wikipedia
6
Euthanasia - MU School of Medicine (missouri.edu)
LIVING WILL 7

A living will for euthanasia is a written document in which a patient fines advance instruction
as to the type of treatment to be given to him if he is near death or is unable to give consent,
while euthanasia (passive euthanasia) is the situation in which the treatment of a dying person
is stopped if death is seen to be imminent. It will be imperative to ensure that ‘Living Will’is
permitted only in cases of passive euthanasia. Only though Living Will, a person will be able
to tell whether is appropriate to keep him on life support system forcibly when there is no
hope of his recovery? The patient who has reached coma himself is not in any position to
express his wish. That is why he should have the right to write in advance that his body
should not be tortured when the hope of his recovery is lost.

STATUS OF EUTHANASIA IN INDIA

 Who can be given euthanasia in India

According to the decision of the Supreme Court, patients who are in coma, whose chances of
survival are zero. He can be give euthanasia. Provision has been made for this. Patients
suffering from serious diseases like AIDS, cancer, who have no chances of survival, can also
be given euthanasia. Although the medical board decides only after goin into coma. After the
Aruna Shanbhag case, for the first time in India, there was a debate on euthanasia. Shanbagh
was a rape victim who remained in a coma for 42 year. Any adult who is healthy and
mentally stable and in a condition to communicate can write a will or euthanasia. He should
be able to understand the document and be aware of these consequences. Living Will should
be voluntary and there should not be any pressure or compulsion behind it. There should be
elements of consent in this will and should be no selfishness behind writing it.According to
court, the testator should clarify that in case of incurable diseases, his medical treatment
should be removed and should not be given special treatment. The testator can withdraw from
the promise written in his at any time. He also has to be told that if he becomes unconscious,
which of his close relatives will take the decision.

7
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  What is the process of euthanasia in India now

Passive euthanasia is legal right in India. In this, the will of the person seeking euthanasia is
made. It is also called Living Will. In this, signature of 2 witnesses related to the person
seeking euthanasia are also made. It has 3 processes.
1. Report of the Medical Board- Medical examination of the concerned person is done after
seeking euthanasia. For this a medical board is formed. The specialist doctor checks the
severity of the disease and the existence level of the patient. After this a report is made.
2. Collector and committee- If euthanasia is done in the recommendation of the Medical
Bboard, the file is sent to the concerned district collector. The District Collector forms a
panel or committee to see and verify that file. The committee investigates the matter and
submits the report.
3. Permission of the Judicial Magistrate -After completion of the tow- stage process, the
report of the patient is sent to the first judicial magistrate. There, after witnesses verification,
the judicial magistrate allows euthanasia. After completion of all the three procedures, there
is a provision to euthanize the patient.

STATUS OF EUTHANASIA IN OTHER COUNTRIES 8

 In which countries euthanasia is valid

In 2002, the first county to adopt euthanasia is Netherlands. Euthanasia is currently also
permitted in Belgium and Luxembourg. Apart from this, the law of euthanasia also exists in
Colombia and in some states of America, like Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana,
California, Colorado and Hawaii.

 Countries that not adopted euthanasia

On the other hand, in many big counties like Britain, Norway, Spain, Russia, China, France
and Italy, euthanasia is declared illegal and and the demand to legalize it here has been going
on for a long time.

 Right related to euthanasia in other countries:

8
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Minor also has right in Belgium-Netherlands in 2 countries in the world, the Netherlands and
Belgium, a minor also has the right to euthanasia legally. Here children under 18 years of age
can apply for euthanasia with the signature of their parents. In India, only people above 18
years of age have the right to euthanasia.

ARGUMENTS ON EUTHANASIA 9

 Arguments in Favour of euthanasia (In India):

Euthanasia provides a way to relieve the intolerably extreme pain and suffering of an
individual. It relieves the terminally ill people from a lingering death. In many developing
and under developed countries like India, there is lack of funds. There is shortage of hospital
space. So, the energy of doctors and hospital beds can be used for those people whose life can
be saved instead of continuing the life of those who want to die. Another important point on
which the supporters of euthanasia emphasize is that a lot of medical facilities which amount
a lot are being spent on these patients who are in any case going to die. Thus, they argue that
rather than spending those on such patients, it will be much better to use such facilities for
those who have even fair chances of recovery. Its aim is altruistic and beneficial as it is an act
of painlessly putting to death to those persons who are suffering from painful and incurable
diseases. So, the motive behind this is to help rather than harm. It not only relives the
unbearable pain of a patient but also relieves the relatives of a patient from the mental agony.
The essence of human life is to live a dignified life and to force the person to live in an
undignified way is against the person’s choice. Thus it expresses the choice of a person which
is a fundamental principle. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution clearly provides for living
with dignity. A person has a right to live a life with at least minimum dignity and if that
standard is falling below that minimum level then a person should be given a right to end his
life. Supporters of euthanasia also point out to the fact that as passive euthanasia has been
allowed, similarly active euthanasia must also be allowed. A patient will wish to end his life
only in cases of excessive agony and would prefer to die a painless death rather than living a

9
Euthanasia in India (legalservicesindia.com)
miserable life with that agony and suffering. Thus, from a moral point of view it will be
better to allow the patient die painlessly when in any case he knows that he is going to die
because of that terminal illness. A point which is often raised against the supporters of
euthanasia is that if such right will be granted to the terminally ill patients then there will be
chances of abusing it. But the supporters argue that every right involves a risk of being
abused but that doesn’t mean that the right itself should be denied to the people. We should
rather look at the brighter side of it than thinking of it being abused.
In this way, many issues are involved in the context of euthanasia, in whose scope different
perspectives are related to ethical and legal, social and medical, biological and human rights.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment, distinguished euthanasia from suicide and linked it to
the right to live and said that living with dignity also includes dying with dignity. This is
quite appropriate. The reason is that euthanasia and suicide are two different things. Even if
it is considered equivalent to suicide, it would be necessary to consider that a person takes the
decision to end life in situations of extreme desperation or despair. In euthanasia the
frustration has its source within the individual, as in unbearable suffering that has no
resolution while alive but requires the help of others to implement its decision; Suicide is an
expression of extreme frustration in life that has sources outside the individual, but does not
require the help of others to carry out his decision.

 Arguments against euthanasia (In India):

The human Life is gift of and taking life is wrong and immoral human beings Connot be
given the right to play the part of Gods. The one who suffers pain is only to one’s karma.
Thus euthanasia devalues human life. It is totally against the medical ethics, morals and
public policy. Medical ethics call for nursing, care giving and healing and not ending the life
of the patient. In the present time, medical science is advancing at a great pace. Thus even the
most incurable diseases are becoming curable today. Thus instead of encouraging a patient to
end his life, the medical practitioners should encourage the patients to lead their painful life
with strength which should be moral as well as physical. . It has a slippery slope effect, for
example firstly it can be legalized only for terminally ill people but later on laws can be
changed and then it may allow for non- voluntary or involuntary. It is feared that if
euthanasia is legalized then other groups of more vulnerable people will become at risk of
feeling into taking that option themselves. Groups that represent disabled people are against
the legalization of euthanasia on the ground that such groups of vulnerable people would feel
obliged to opt for euthanasia as they may see themselves as a burden to society. Acceptance
of euthanasia as an option could exercise a detrimental effect a societal attitudes and on the
doctor patient relationship. The doctor patient relationship is based on mutual trust, it is
feared this trust may be lost if euthanasia is legalized. Patient would not be able to trust either
doctors or their relatives as many of them were taking about patient’s painless dignified death
and it became a euphemism for assisted murder. When suicide is not allowed then euthanasia
should also not be allowed. A person commits suicide when he goes into a state of depression
and has no hope from the life. Similar is the situation when a person asks for euthanasia. But
such tendency can be lessened by proper care of such patients and showing hope in them.
Miracles do happen in our society especially when it is a matter of life and death, there are
examples of patients coming out of coma after years and we should not forget human life is
all about hope.

CASES RELATED TO EUTHANASIA IN INDIA

 Aruna Ram Chandra Shanbaug vs. Union of India & Ors on 7 march,
2011 10
Judgment:
The court drew the distinction between active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia can
be seen as the positive and deliberate termination of one's life by injecting and administering
lethal substances. It is considered to be a crime worldwide except permitted by legislation. In
India, active euthanasia is a straight infringement of section 302 2 and section 3043 of the
IPC. Moreover, physician-assisted suicide is an offense under section 309 4 of IPC. Passive
euthanasia on the other hand is the withdrawal of life-supporting systems or medical
treatment. The main distinction between active and passive euthanasia is that in "active"
something is done deliberately to end life whereas in "passive" something is not done. A
proper procedure and guidelines were enlisted by the apex court for granting passive
euthanasia in the "rarest of rare circumstances" while rejecting the plea made by the
petitioner. The High Court under article 226 would be entitled to make decisions regarding
the withdrawal of the life support system. A bench must be constituted by the Chief Justice of
the High Court when an application is received, before which a committee of three reputed

10
Articles – Manupatra
doctors nominated must be referred. There should be a thorough examination of the patient
and state and family members are provided with a notice issued by the bench. The High
Court must give a speedy decision.

 Common Cause vs. Union of India March 9, 2018 11

Judgment:
In this case, the Supreme Court held that, under Art.21 of the Indian Constitution, an
individual has a right to die with dignity as part of his / her right to life and personal liberty.
Thus, this decision requires the elimination of life-support devices for terminally ill or
incurable comas.The court also allowed individuals to decide against the help of an artificial
life support system and acknowledged the need to establish a will to live. In this case court
laid down certain principles related to procedure for execution of advance directive and
provided some guidelines to give effect to passive euthanasia. In both circumstances where
there are advance directives and where there is none, exercise the power under Article 142 of
the constitution and the law stated in Vishaka and others v. state of Rajasthan and others. The
directive and guidelines decided by the court shall remain in force until and unless parliament
does not bring any legislation in this field.

 Gian Kaur v. state of Punjab 1996 SSC: 12

Judgment:
In this case Gian Kaur and her husband Harbans Singh were convicted by a Trial Court under
Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. They were sentenced to six years imprisonment and
fine of Rs. 2,000/- for abetting the suicide by Ms. Kulwant Kaur. Section 306 punishes
anyone who abets the commission of suicide, while Section 309 punishes anyone who
attempts to commit suicide. It was argued that, as held in P. Rathinam v. Union of India, the
Article 21 right to life includes the right to die. So, a person abetting suicide is merely
assisting in the enforcement of Article 21. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court
overruled P.Rathinam.
11
Common Cause vs. Union of India [Passive Euthanasia]: Case Analysis (ourlegalworld.com)
12
GIAN KAUR v. STATE OF PUNJAB Case Summary 1996 SCC - Law Planet - Legal News, Law Updates & Law
Exams Preparation
CASES RELATED TO EUTHANASIA IN OTHER COUNTRIES 13

 In re Quinlan 70 NJ 1976

Judgement:

The New Jersey Superior Court denied her parents’ request, but the New Jersey Supreme
Court reversed and ruled that Quinlan’s “right to privacy” included her right to be removed
from the ventilator.

 Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Dept. of Health 497 U.S 261 1990

Judgement:

A state trial court authorized the termination of feeding, but the Missouri Supreme Court
reversed. In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the Missouri
Supreme Court, finding that the State of Missouri’s actions to preserve human life were
constitutional in the absence of “clear and convincing evidence” that Cruzan desired
treatment to be withdrawn.

 Washington v. Glucksberg 521 U.S. 702

Judgement:

The District Court ruled that the ban was unconstitutional, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed.
The Supreme Court, in a 9-0 decision, reversed, finding that the ban on MAID does not
violate the Fourteenth Amendment.

CONCLUSION:
13
Landmark Euthanasia and Medical Aid in Dying Court Cases - Euthanasia - ProCon.org
We have seen in this research paper that many countries have approved euthanasia and In
India we have seen that approval of euthanasia in Aruna Shanbhag case And, in Common
Cause Case But it has allowed only Passive euthanasia . In some cases where patient is not in
his physical sense and can not. Enjoy his or her life there it should be eligible for euthanasia
or right to die but patient that can be handled by. Some treatment by doctors they should not
be given right to die or euthanasia. Thus we have seen euthanasia positive way in our society.