Rajya Sabha MP & Supreme Court Lawyer Haris Beeran Urges Parliament To Enact Law On Euthanasia

Supreme Court lawyer and Member of Parliament Haris Beeran in his speech before the Rajya Sabha on Monday (March 16) urged the Parliament to enact a law governing Euthanasia as well as palliative health care of terminally ill patients. 

This comes in the wake of Supreme Court's first-ever order allowing passive euthanasia, wherein it permitted withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment of 32-year-old Harish Rana, in terms of its 2018 Common Cause judgment (as modified in 2023) thereby recognising the fundamental right to die with dignity.

For context, Rana had sustained a brain injury after he had fallen from a building in 2012 and had been sustaining on Clinically Administered Nutrition(CAN) with no signs of recovery as supported by the reports of two medical boards constituted by the Court.

Beeran, a member of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) party from Kerala, while referring to the Supreme Court's decision in his speech said:

"Last week the Supreme Court had delivered a judgment by which it allowed withdrawal of life support to a terminally ill patient. Harish Rana a healthy young man who had an accidental fall in 2013 from the fourth floor of his paying guest house was in coma for entire 13 years. He was in permanent vegetative state, 100% disabled and he was on clinically assisted nutrition and hydration. His parents did not have any other option but to move the court. I spoke to their lawyer, Rashmi Nandkumar, who told me that the resilience shown by the family in this entire personal trauma was commendable". 

He said that the bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan had, "tears in their eyes while delivering the judgment and told the parents that 'you are not giving upon your son you are allowing him to leave with dignity'". 

He further said, "Supreme Court also realised that they are stepping into an arena where there no legislation. Article 21 of the Constitution says that there is a right to life with dignity that has been stretched to right to die with dignity. But how much can the Supreme Court stretch...that is the question. My issue is that there is no legislation despite all these things". 

He said that in 2006, the 196th Law Commission Report comprehensively examined the issue of passive euthanasia, apprehending a draft law. "But Parliament did nothing," he said. 

In 2011, Beeran said, Supreme Court was "forced to step in" in Aruna Shaunbag's case (2011) and "frame guidelines because Parliament did nothing". 

"2012, 241st report of Law Commission again had a draft law but Parliament did nothing. In 2018 the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court in Common Cause case issued elaborate guidelines noting that they will operate only till Parliament framed a law. But Parliament did nothing. In 2023, Supreme Court modified the guidelines, till the time Parliament enacts the law; Parliament did nothing. In 2026 the latest judgment of Supreme Court also expresses hope that Parliament will legislate on the subject. We talk endlessly about protecting poor from financial distress. 65% of all healthcare expenditure in country is paid entirely out of pocket by families. Yet we refuse to pass a law. No doctor or health care professional will be prepared to take a risk. Also there are health care legislations in foreign countries also, but we are not prepared," he emphasized. 

He further said that his state Kerala had shown the nation what end of life care is like, adding that since 2008 Kerala has run a community based palliative care reaching every gram panchayat by integrating NGOs. 

"I urge the government to introduce the Medical Treatment of Terminally Ill Patients and End of Life Care Act, as recommended by Law Commission and to mandate palliative health care infrastructure at every district hospital and primary health care centres," he said while concluding his speech.