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'Right To Die With Dignity': Karnataka Approves Passive Euthanasia

The Karnataka Health Department will soon implement the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling to allow terminally ill patients the 'Right to die with dignity'.

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Tanya Savkoor
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The Karnataka Health Department will soon implement a Supreme Court 2023 ruling to allow terminally ill patients the 'Right to die with dignity', according to The News Minute. Following ongoing discourse about 'passive euthanasia' or 'mercy killing', the State government held consultations with numerous medical professionals and palliative care specialists to make the landmark decision. The Siddaramaiah administration has ordered the establishment of medical boards in hospitals across the State to enable requests for dignified deaths.

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What Is Passive Euthanasia?

In January 2023, the Supreme Court of India simplified its rules for passive euthanasia for terminally ill patients or those in a vegetative state. Passive euthanasia means the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment in cases of patients who have no hope of recovery. It involves stopping medical interventions like ventilators or feeding tubes critical for survival.

Passive euthanasia is also considered when an able patient refuses treatment understanding the consequences. Another situation where it is considered is when a person outlines their treatment preferences in a 'living will', specifying what medical actions should be taken if they become unable to make decisions in the future.

The 'right to die with dignity' goes hand-in-hand with the 'right to refuse medical treatment'. These have been recognised in Common Law. Although the apex court has legalised passive euthanasia, there has been no dedicated legislation to conduct it. There remain ongoing discussions around a defined framework to fulfil this. 

Karnataka Allows Passive Euthanasia

The Karnataka Health Department released a notice on January 31, reading that Withholding or Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Treatment (WLST) can be considered for patients who are terminally ill, in a persistent vegetative state, or have no hope of recovery. The decision must be made per a prescribed procedure and approved by the treating doctor.

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Patients can create an Advance Medical Directive (AMD), also known as a “living will,” to specify their preferences for future medical treatment. This allows patients to nominate two individuals to make decisions on their behalf if they lose decision-making capacity. It is submitted to a competent local government officer and maintained in their medical records.

Ahead of administering passive euthanasia, the hospital must also inform primary and secondary medical boards, each comprising three registered medical practitioners (e.g., neurologists, neurosurgeons, intensivists). These boards will decide on WLST after obtaining consent from the patient’s next of kin or a person nominated in the patient’s AMD.

Decisions by the medical boards must be submitted to the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class (JMFC). They will forward copies of the decisions to the Registrar of the High Court. Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that allowing passive euthanasia will "bring great relief and a dignified sense of closure to many families and individuals."

 

 

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