Question

Are there circumstances that warrant Euthanasia? Does the patient have to request it or does his or her family have to request it? When is a person dead? How do we define death? Do people have a right to die?

Answer 1

Are there circumstances that warrant Euthanasia?

Yes, there are the circumstances that warrants the Euthanasia.

Following are few examples of such circumstances:

Terminally ill patients from any of the following conditions such as:

From HIV-AIDS, Cancers, Paralysis (whole body), Severe accidents, Multiple organ failure etc.

So here in the above mentioned situation one can go for Euthanasia. However, this is again notable that all country do not make it legal. Only a few developed Western country have legalised euthanasia but still some other countries do not at all accept or legalised the euthanasia. It is also note worthy that the different country legalised the euthanasia in different categories and only under the limited circumstances. Human euthanasia policies have also been developed by a variety of NGOs, most notably medical associations and advocacy organizations. As of March 2018, active human euthanasia is legal in the countries like Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Luxembourg, and Canada. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, the Australian state of Victoria and in the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Montana, Washington, D.C.,Maine (Starting 1 January 2020), New Jersey, and California.

Does the patient have to request it or does his or her family have to request it?

Euthanasia can be requested from the patient itself or by the Guardians or family members depending on the situations. When a patient is totally in comma or in a state where he can not give his consent or cannot take a wise and genuine decision for the euthanasia in that situation family members can request for it. It can be best described in short here for better clarifications.

Euthanasia in Greek means a good death (A happy ending or termination of life). Euthanasia encompasses various dimensions, from

Active: Introducing something to cause death;

Passive: Withholding treatment or supportive measures;

Voluntary: Consent;

Involuntary: Consent from guardian and

Physician assisted: Where physician's prescribe the medicine and patient or the third party administers the medication to cause death.

Request for premature ending of life has contributed to the debate about the role of such practices in contemporary health care. This debate cuts across complex and dynamic aspects such as, legal, ethical, human rights, health, religious, economic, spiritual, social and cultural aspects of the civilised society.

When is a person dead?

A person is said to be Dead when there is the permanent cessation of all biological functions that sustain living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include aging, predation, malnutrition, disease, suicide, homicide, starvation, dehydration, and accidents or major trauma resulting in terminal injury. In most cases, bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death.

How do we define death?

Death:  1. The end of life or the cessation of life

2. The permanent cessation of all vital bodily functions. (This definition depends upon the definition of "vital bodily functions.")

3. The common law standard for determining death is the cessation of all vital functions, traditionally demonstrated by "an absence of spontaneous respiratory and cardiac functions."

4. The uniform determination of death. The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1980 formulated the Uniform Determination of Death Act. It states that: "An individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem is dead. A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards." This definition was approved by the American Medical Association in 1980 and by the American Bar Association in 1981.

Do people have right to die?

This is quiet controversial question to be answered. However, Yes for the country which legalised the euthanasia. In those country in the given particular circumstances it is their right to die where they accept the Euthanasia as legal. But, similarly No, in remaining other countries where it is not legalised it is still illegal to die. In context of India, the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the article 21 clearly defines the right to life but not to death.

In India abetment of suicide and attempt to suicide are both criminal offences. In 1994, constitutional validity of Indian Penal Code Section (IPC Sec) 309 was challenged in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court declared that IPC Sec 309 is unconstitutional, under Article 21 (Right to Life) of the constitution in a landmark judgement. In 1996, an interesting case of abetment of commission of suicide (IPC Sec 306) came to Supreme Court. The accused were convicted in the trial court and later the conviction was upheld by the High Court. They appealed to the Supreme Court and contended that ‘right to die’ be included in Article 21 of the Constitution and any person abetting the commission of suicide by anyone is merely assisting in the enforcement of the fundamental right under Article 21; hence their punishment is violation of Article 21. This made the Supreme Court to rethink and to reconsider the decision of right to die. Immediately the matter was referred to a Constitution Bench of the Indian Supreme Court. The Court held that the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution does not include the right to die.

Regarding suicide, the Supreme Court reconsidered its decision on suicide. Abetment of suicide (IPC Sec 306) and attempt to suicide (IPC Sec 309) are two distinct offences, hence Section 306 can survive independent of Section 309. It has also clearly stated that a person attempts suicide in a depression, and hence he needs help, rather than punishment. Therefore, the Supreme Court has recommended to Parliament to consider the feasibility of deleting Section 309 from the Indian Penal Code.

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