All You Need To Know About The Execution Of Advance Directive (Living Will) For Passive Euthanasia As Per The Law Laid Down By SC Today

In a landmark Judgment the Five Judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India has held that the right to life and liberty as envisaged under Article 21 of the Constitution is meaningless unless it encompasses within its sphere individual dignity."With the passage of time, this Court has expanded the spectrum of Article 21 to include within it the right to live with dignity as component of right to life and liberty"The Bench also held that the right to live with dignity also includes the smoothening of the process of dying in case of a terminally ill patient or a person in Persistent Vegetative State with no hope of recovery.“A failure to legally recognize advance medical directives may amount to non-facilitation of the right to smoothen the dying process and the right to live with dignity. Further, a study of the position in other jurisdictions shows that Advance Directives have gained lawful recognition in several jurisdictions by way of legislation and in certain countries through judicial pronouncements.Though the sanctity of life has to be kept on the high pedestal yet in cases of terminally ill persons or PVS patients where there is no hope for revival, priority shall be given to the Advance Directive and the right of self-determination. In the absence of Advance Directive, the procedure provided for the said category hereinbefore shall be applicable. When passive euthanasia as a situational palliative measure becomes applicable, the best interest of the patient shall override the State interest”.The Bench has laid down the principles relating to the procedure for execution of Advance Directive and provided the guidelines to give effect to passive euthanasia in both circumstances, namely, where there are advance directives and where there are none, in exercise of the power under Article 142 of the Constitution.All You Need To Know About The Execution Of Advance Directive (Living Will) For Passive Euthanasia As Per The Law Laid Down By SC TodayAdvance Directive/Advance Care Directive/Advance Medical Directive:In order to overcome the difficulty faced in case of patients who are unable to express their wishes at the time of taking the decision, the concept of Advance Medical Directives emerged in various countries. Advance Directives for health care go by various names in different countries though the objective by and large is the same, that is, to specify an individual's health care decisions and to identify persons who will take those decisions for the said individual in the event he is unable to communicate his wishes to the doctor.All You Need To Know About The Execution Of Advance Directive (Living Will) For Passive Euthanasia As Per The Law Laid Down By SC TodayThe Black's Law Dictionary defines an advance medical directive as, "a legal document explaining one's wishes about medical treatment if one becomes incompetent or unable to communicate‖. A living will, on the other hand, is a document prescribing a person's wishes regarding the medical treatment the person would want if he was unable to share his wishes with the health care provider.CJI observed that though the learned counsel for the petitioner has used the words ―living will‖, yet he do not intend to use the said terminology.“We have already stated that safeguards and guidelines are required to be provided. First, we shall analyse the issue of legal permissibility of the advance medical directive. In other jurisdictions, the concepts of ―living will‖ and involvement of Attorney are stipulated. There is no legal framework in our country as regards the Advance Medical Directive but we are obliged to protect the right of the citizens as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution. It is our constitutional obligation”.“In our considered opinion, Advance Medical Directive would serve as a fruitful means to facilitate the fructification of the sacrosanct right to life with dignity. The said directive, we think, will dispel many a doubt at the relevant time of need during the course of treatment of the patient. That apart, it will strengthen the mind of the treating doctors as they will be in a position to ensure, after being satisfied, that they are acting in a lawful manner. We may hasten to add that Advance Medical Directive cannot operate in abstraction. There has to be safeguards. They need to be spelt out. We enumerate them as follows:- THE MECHANISM (a) Who can execute the Advance Directive and how? (i) The Advance Directive can be executed only by an adult who is of a sound and healthy state of mind and in a position to communicate, relate and comprehend the purpose and consequences of executing the document.(ii) It must be voluntarily executed and without any coercion or inducement or compulsion and after having full knowledge or information.(iii) It should have characteristics of an informed consent given without any undue influence or constraint.(iv) It shall be in writing clearly stating as to when medical treatment may ...

All You Need To Know About The Execution Of Advance Directive (Living Will) For Passive Euthanasia As Per The Law Laid Down By SC Today

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