- The subject matter is leading to a worldwide debate contesting the merits and demerits of an issue that overwhelmingly subsumes the collective conscience of society. The very thought of death and morbidity itself invokes a veritable range of emotions among people who wish not to dwelve on the matter at all, given a choice. Yes, we are aware if there is one issue that is an inevitable reality, it must be death. So much so that our forward march toward the final countdown commences the very second, we are born. Nonetheless, we all tend to believe and push beyond our acceptance levels to keep the thought of morbidity away. Every philosophy, spiritual quest, religion, belief, and faith unequivocally lead us to the inevitable.
PC: B&B Associates LLP
- Of course, humans wish to keep the inevitable at bay but are unsuccessful. Now, there are certain situations in life where people want to end their existence owing to insurmountable challenges. It could be poor health, permanently bedridden, vegetative state, brain dead, and decapitating illness/sickness. Several countries have opened to the idea of administering active and/or passive euthanasia to mitigate the long-suffering of terminally ill/permanently bedridden patients. However, the issue is far from settled since the sensitivity and complexities involved in the matter are extremely critical with several underlying layers. The Indian healthcare authorities too are not averse to the idea of relieving the suffering of certain patients who cannot be medically revived.
- As such, the recently released draft guidelines advance the rights of terminally ill patients on life support, but the reality is painfully behind. While healthcare reach in India leaves a lot to be desired, there is no doubt that every day more persons have access to life-sustaining treatments than yesterday. But this also means that every day more patients on life support are not expected to benefit from it. While recent years have seen courts and government recognize such terminally ill patient’s right to die with dignity, the actual processes to access this right are so gruelling that it largely remains out of reach. The draft GOI guidelines for withdrawal of life support in terminally ill patients, released for public comment, are intended to increase access to this right. Will they?
PC: Mint
- In a recent case, both Delhi HC and the SC turned down the plea of aging parents of a patient who has been in a permanently vegetative state for more than a decade, to direct the constitution of a medical board to assess him for passive euthanasia. The court’s logic was that the patient does not appear to be on life support. Experts have since pointed out that the court’s reading of the Ryles tube, inserted into the patient’s stomach through his nose, is neither the consensus medical opinion nor the legal position in most jurisdictions around the world. A useful clarification provided by the draft guidelines is that nutrients pumped directly into a vein are in the same category as mechanical ventilation. For this to fructify, the medical boards need to exist in the first place. Then they need to step up. Act with gravity empathy, and science.
