MODEL ESSAY FOR MPCJ MAINS EXAM

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.

 Euthanasia may be classified according to consent into three types.

1. Voluntary euthanasia- when the person who is killed has requested to be killed.
2. Non-voluntary euthanasia- when the person who is killed made no request and gave
no consent. In other words, it is done when the person is unable to communicate his
wishes, being in coma.
3. Involuntary euthanasia- when the person who is killed made an expressed wish to
the contrary. In other words, it is involuntary when the person killed gives his
consent not to die.

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.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUICIDE AND EUTHANASIA:

 There is a conceptual distinction between suicide and euthanasia. In a suicide a man
voluntarily kills himself by stabbing, poisoning or by any other way. No doubt in
suicide one intentionally attempts to take his life.
 On the other hand euthanasia may be active such as when a doctor gives a lethal
injection to a patient or passive such as when a doctor removes life support system
of the patient.
 Euthanasia is a complex matter; there are many different types of euthanasia.

Arguments For Euthanasia:

 It provides a way to relieve extreme pain
 It provides a way of relief when a person's quality of life is low
 Frees up medical funds to help other people
 It is another case of freedom of choice

Arguments Against Euthanasia:

 Euthanasia devalues human life
 Euthanasia can become a means of health care cost containment
 Physicians and other medical care people should not be involved in directly causing
death

International situation over Euthanasia

 There is not a “right to die” under international humanitarian law. “Right to good
death” cannot be inferred from the ordinary meaning of any human rights
document. On the contrary, human rights documents call upon states to protect and
secure the life of everyone. Out of the 193members of the United Nations (UN),
only four have legalized euthanasia (the Netherlands,Belgium, Luxembourg, and
Canada). The issue continues to be fiercely debated but has been rejected by
legislatures in many jurisdictions. The Convention on the Rights of Persons
 with Disabilities, 2006 is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations
to protect the rights and dignity of people. The UN International treaty states that
“States Parties must take all necessary measures to ensure that persons with
disabilities have the same right as others to the effective enjoyment of the right to
life.”
 Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966
(ICCPR) states, “Every human being has the inherent right to life. No one shall be
arbitrarily deprived of his life.” Article 6(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC) states that “every child has the inherent right to life.” Besides, article 7
of ICCPR states that human beings should be protected from inhuman or degrading
treatment.

Legal aspects of euthanasia in India

 One of the important points, raised in the favour of legalising euthanasia in India,
laid before the Supreme Court, in the case of Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab, was
that the ‘right to life’ provided under the Indian Constitution includes the ‘right to
die’ as well. However, this contention was rejected, and the SC held that the ‘right
to life’ under Article 21 does not include the ‘right to die’. And by no means can it
be stretched to mean the same. Hence, the Apex Court of the land does not hold the
illegality of euthanasia to be constitutionally invalid.
 It was held in Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug v. Union of India, that for an
incompetent person, who is not able to take decisions as to whether to withdraw life
support or not, as parens patrie, it is the Court alone, which can ultimately take this
decision in the case of an incompetent person who is unable to take a decision
whether to withdraw life support or not, though, no doubt, the views of the near
relatives, next friend and doctors must be given due weight. Consequently, in this
case, the Apex Court held that, though active euthanasia is completely illegal,
passive euthanasia, to an extent, following the guidelines laid down in the case,
legalised.
 The Law Commission has also recommended the legalization of euthanasia, in its
241st Report.
 In Common Cause (A Regd. Society) vs. Union of India (UOI) and Ors., a
leading case on euthanasia, passive euthanasia was legalized, and it was held, by the
Supreme Court, that the ‘right to die with dignity’ is a fundamental right. Medical
treatment can be refused, or decided against taking the same, by a sane adult human
of conscious mind. He may decide to die a natural death, instead of availing the
treatments.

Conclusion and Suggestion

 The law makers have to analyse the overall background and the socio legal
conditions to grant the same in Indian perspective. The Supreme Court has
considered the inherent motives of the persons responsible for not considering the
active euthanasia. The Supreme Court of India has allowed passive euthanasia and
to form a law to define the boundaries and limits.
  The apex judiciary also favoured for constituting a committee to play a supervisory
role in the conduction of mercy killing. The decision of the honourable court is
highly appreciable, it works like a light in the dark.
 Apex court has focussed upon the agony of the patient and his peaceful exit from
life while allowing the same. To make secure the right to die with dignity is the
positive expansion of the right to life under the ambit of article 21 of the
Constitution. Though the grant of passive euthanasia should be welcomed and the
law as well as now it is the responsibility of the Parliament to frame the law on this
issue and the guidelines to implement the same as far as possible. It would be
helpful in making the situation clear.

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