Supreme Court asks Centre to clear stand on euthanasia

A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Justice Anil R Dave asked ASG P S Patwalia to make the government’s stand clear, even as the law officer pointed out a bill for allowing passive euthanasia was pending.

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Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse at a Mumbai hospital, existed comatose in the room after being subjected to a brutal sexual assault in 1973 by a ward boy, who tried to throttle her with a dog chain, leaving her in a permanently vegetative state. (Source: Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

The Supreme Court Friday sought a categorical answer from the government on whether the life support system of a brain-dead patient with no hope of revival can be withdrawn. A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Justice Anil R Dave asked ASG P S Patwalia to make the government’s stand clear, even as the law officer pointed out a bill for allowing passive euthanasia was pending.

Patwalia said: “There is a proposed law — Medical Treatment of Terminally ill Patient (Protection of Patients and Medical Practioners) Bill, 2006, which is pending. The bill deals with the issue. There is the 241st report of Law Commission which said passive euthanasia should be allowed with certain safeguards.”

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He also cited 6.7 regulation under Medical Council of India Act which said practising euthanasia would constitute unethical conduct. However on specific occasions, the question of withdrawing supporting devices to sustain cardio-pulmonary function even after brain death would be decided only by a doctors’ team and not merely by the treating physician alone, he said.

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Hearing a PIL filed by NGO Common Cause for allowing euthanasia, the bench replied: “We will be limiting our scope to the situation where doctors believe there is no hope of revival of the terminally-ill patient and prolongation of the life support system is not required.” It posted the matter for further hearing on February 1.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, said a person should be allowed to make a living will through which he allows withdrawal of medical support if he is terminally-ill and surviving on life support system. “Why should such a person be made to suffer the assault of ventilator,” he asked, adding that a team of doctors can decide on the time to withdraw the life support.

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