Passive Euthanasia: In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed passive euthanasia for a 31-year-old man who has been in a comatose condition for more than 12 years. The apex court permitted doctors to withdraw his artificial life support. With the Supreme Court order on the passive euthanasia, the long-debated 'right to die with dignity' gets a legal standing now.
Earlier, describing the case as a "very hard one", the apex court sought the Centre's response on August 20 last year on the plea of the parents of Rana.
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What Is Passive Euthanasia?
According to the medical experts, passive euthanasia is the intentional act of letting a patient die by withholding or withdrawing life support or the treatment necessary to keep him alive. According to the guidelines issued by the apex court in 2023, a primary and a secondary medical board will have to be formed for an expert opinion on the withdrawal of artificial life support for a patient in a vegetative state.
Why Right To Die Matters
The 'right to die' through passive euthanasia for a patient in a vegetative state upholds individual autonomy to end his life with dignity. Passive euthanasia allows terminally ill patients to refuse life-sustaining treatment, avoiding prolonged suffering when recovery is impossible.
Who Is The Patient?
The crucial apex court order came in a case related to Harish Rana. He was a student of the Panjab University and had suffered head injuries after falling from the fourth floor of his paying-guest accommodation in 2013. He remains completely bed-ridden and on an artificial support system for more than 12 years now.
He has been in a coma for over 12 years. The top court earlier expressed its desire to meet the parents of the 31-year-old man. It had perused a report containing Rana's medical history filed by a secondary medical board of doctors from the AIIMS-Delhi and remarked that it was a "sad" report.
The primary medical board, after examining the patient's condition, had stressed the negligible chance of his recovery.
The top court had, on December 11, noted that according to the report of the primary medical board, the man is in a "pathetic condition".
What The Supreme Court Said
Directing AIIMS doctors to grant admission in palliative care to Rana so that the medical treatment can be withdrawn, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan said it must be ensured that it is withdrawn with a tailored plan so that dignity is maintained.
Last July, the Delhi High Court refused to refer Rana's case to a medical board for allowing him to undergo passive euthanasia. The high court had said the facts of the case indicate that the man is not being kept alive mechanically and he is able to sustain himself without any extra external aid.
(With PTI Inputs)