Euthanasia in the Context of Bangladesh

Should it be Legalized ?
Submitted To
Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon
LLB (Hons.), LLM (Dhaka University,
Bangladesh)
MILE (Switzerland)
Professor
Department of Law
University of Dhaka
 Submitted By
Md.Rabiul Islam
Readmission
2nd year
Department of law
University of Dhaka
DEFINITION
• The word ‘Euthanasia’ is of Greek origin – root in the words eu(good) +
Thanatos( Death)
• conjunctively mean – “ Good or Happy Death”
Also known as-

 mercy killing
 assisted suicide

• Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary defines –

“It is a practice ( illegal in most countries ) of killing without pain a person who is suffering
from a disease that cannot be cured.”
 In terminal situation

There has also been arguments as to why people

be forced to live. In such a circumstance the most
appropriate answer will be a big - NO
FORMS OF EUTHANASIA

Voluntary

Passive Involuntary

Non
Active voluntary
• Voluntary euthanasia is conducted with the consent of
the patient

• Involuntary Involuntary euthanasia is conducted against

the will of the patient.

• Nonvoluntary is conducted when the consent of the

patient is unavailable. Coma

• Active killing a patient by active means, for example,

injecting a patient with a lethal dose of a drug.

• Passive intentionally letting a patient die by withholding

artificial life support such as a ventilator or feeding tube..
 UNDER WHICH LAW EUTHANASIA IS
ILLEGAL IN BANGLADESH?
• There is no specific or special law illegalizing Euthanasia in
Bangladesh, in Fact, The word ‘Euthanasia’ is alien to
Bangladesh Laws.
• If there is any valid consent from the deceased person then
the section 300 will be applicable and punishable under
section 304 of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not
amounting to murder.
• If Doctors perform Euthanasia(without consent) for the
benefit of Patients , it falls under Section 92 of The Penal
Code; and The section Expressly provides that this
exception shall not extend to intentional causing of death.
• Section 306 of The Penal Code – Abetment of Suicide
• Section 309 of Penal Code – Attempt to Suicide
 EUTHANASIA THROUGH THE LENS OF
BANGLADESH CONSTITUTION

• Article 31 & 32 of The Constitution –” Right To

Life”

• Does “Right to life” include an inherent “Right to

Die” in Article31 & 32?

• Perhaps, The question has never been argued in

our jurisdiction ever.
 Is Euthanasia a human right?
❏ Article 6(1) of ICCPR; Right to life
❏ Article 3 of UDHR; Right to life

• There no mention of Right to Die within UN Treaties, the

interpretation of these treaties over the course of several decades
has not resulted in support for EUTHANASIA.

• Right to respect for private life (Article 8

of the European convention) may be
defense for the patient’s right to seek
assistance to die.
 WHAT SCHOOL OF
CRIMINOLOGY IS RELATED
WITH?

• Classical school of criminology.

• Human being as a free will agent.

• Doctrine of hedonism: pain and pleasure main

motivation of human behaviour.

• Patient prefers euthanasia to get rid of unbearable

suffering of illness.
KEY ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF
EUTHANASIA:
• ‘Right to Life’ Necessarily includes ‘Right to Death’ and thus one is at liberty
to decide about his own life.
CORE ARGUMENT AGAINST EUTHANASIA:

• It is Unethical; Life is a
gift from GOD, thus
he(GOD) is the only
authority to take it
out.
 Argument for Euthanasia Argument Against Euthanasia

• None of us can have all the

 Autonomy of The Patients
rights we want in society

 Dying With Dignity

• True Dignity lies in Continuance
of living
 Elimination of Suffering
• No one truly knows when he
will die
 ISLAM ON EUTHANASIA

• Muslims are against Euthanasia . They believe that all human lives
are sacred because it is given by Allah and only Allah chooses how
long each person will live.

• “ Do not take life, which Allah made sacred other than in the course
of justice”
Bani Israel-33
• “ When their time comes they cannot delay it for a single hour nor
they can bring it forward by a single hour.
Sura Nahl- 61
LIFE IS A GIFT FROM GOD : RELIGIOUS
VIEWS ON EUTHANASIA
• Almost every religion disapproves
the practice of euthanasia.

Christianity on Euthanasia
• Life is a gift from God .
• ‘Thou shall not kill’ : one of Ten
commandments from god.
• Human beings are created by God in
his own image.
• Human beings are free agent but this
freedom does not extend to the
ending of their own lives.
 HINDUISM ON EUTHANASIA
• There are two different views in
Hinduism ;

1. One view is that Euthanasia goes

against Hinduism, since it breaches
the doctrine of “ Ahimsa” and
simultaneously damages “ Karma” of
both doctor and patient.
2. The other view is that Hinduism
approves Euthanasia as it helps to
end a painful life and it is a good deed
indeed.
 “Prayopavesa” - fasting till death.
death by fasting of a person who has no desire or ambition left, It
is also allowed in cases of terminal disease

Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami

Died on 32nd day of self imposed fast Bhishma Pitamah of Mahabharat

going to embrace death
 One of the Bangladeshi cases which we can discuss why we need to
legalize euthanasia in our country:

Shamsur Rahman, one of the greatest poets in Bangladesh died on 17

August 2006. The whole nation was shocked to lose him forever.He had
been suffering from various complex diseases like cardiac, respiratory,
renal and gastroenterological disorders. He was suffering so severely
that he was unable to recognize his wife, son, daughter and any close
relatives. He was also unable to communicate with the doctor to
explain his condition. He lost his sense and was comatosed.The
sufferings made him senseless for a couple of weeks. It seems that the
poet was waiting to welcome the messenger of death. Before keeping
him in ICU, the doctors guessed and assumed that his life cannot
beprolonged.

In that situation some of his devotees claimed to send him abroad for
better treatment but consulting with the team leader of the panel the
Government decided not to send him to abroad.
Here, we can see that the poet is the guardian of the nation and
government has to show due respect to the poet, the thing is that our
nation is not too rich by resources to spend as much resources as required
for one specific person to keep him alive.

The source of the Government resources is the taxes of the common

people. Therefore, where there is no expectation of life or keeping him
functionally alive, it is not reasonable to spend a lot of public money only
to show respect to our poet. Rather, we think it is reasonable to reduce
his sufferings so that he may die painlessly.

If we want to show our respect to him, the Government may build up a

monument and other things.
 Can Article 32 of Our Constitution
extend to Right to Die with Dignity?
IMAGINE
YOURSELVE
S IN
TOFAZZAL’S
POSITION

24 January 2017
TOFAZZAL’S URGE TO THE STATE:

Choose one

• Either Allow me to EUTHANAIZE my children

OR

• Provide Monetary Help / Medical Expenses

 Dr.Death

“Dying is not a crime”

Murad Jacob "Jack" Kevorkian (May 26, 1928 – June

3, 2011) was an American pathologist and euthanasia
proponent. He publicly championed a terminal
patient's right to die by physician-assisted suicide,
embodied in his quote, "Dying is not a crime".

Kevorkian said that he assisted at least 130 patients to

that end. He was convicted of murder in 1999 and was
often portrayed in the media with the name of
"Dr.Death".
LEGALIZATION AROUND THE WORLD IN DIFFERENT
FORMS

Source :dnaweekly.com
 A dying man needs to die,
a sleepy man needs to sleep
 In 2017 Doctors.net.uk poll
reported in the British Medical
Journal stated that 55% of
doctors believe assisted dying,
in defined circumstances,
should be legalised in the UK.
A study conducted in a hospital
in Brazil in 2018, where 354
participants, including students
and health professionals, were
questioned about whether they
wouldundergo these practices if
they had a terminal illness,
15.3% answered "decisively
yes", 47.7% "probably yes",
24.3% "probably no", and
12.7% "decisively no".
 SUPREME COURT LEGALIZES PASSIVE
EUTHANASIA: PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DIE
WITH DIGNITY
SNS | New Delhi | March 9, 2018, 11:19 am

In Common Cause v. Union of India verdict, a five-judge Constitution Bench of

the Supreme Court on Friday legalized the passive euthanasia with guidelines
for patients suffering from terminal and irreversible illness.

The top court observed that human beings have the right to die with dignity as
it allowed passive euthanasia.
RIGHT TO DIE WITH DIGNITY AS A
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT

Justice D Y Chandrachud in Common Cause v. Union of India “Life and death are
inseparable. Every moment our bodies undergo change… life is not disconnected
from death. Dying is a part of the process of living.”‘‘…
mere existence does not amount to presence.
EUTHANASIA FROM SOCIO-ECONOMIC
PERSPECTIVE:

• Misusing the euthanasia law

• Instead of last resort, it may be used as a first choice in some cases

• Moral Degradation : The Maintenance of Parents Act 2013

• Yes, Moral Degradation is increasing day by day, But Still We( as a

people) have not become that much evil to let our loved ones Die
instead of Caring! - There might have Rare Exceptions …..
• Greed for property
So, my position
is-

• To Form a Legal Instrument or

Policy for providing medical
support/ monetary help to those
citizens who are unable to
continue medication or to legalize
Passive Euthanasia like India with
proper supervision.
Feel free to ask anything