Euthanasia

February 7, 2023

Context:

The Supreme Court granted legal status to advance medical directives in 2018 and allowed passive euthanasia with safeguards. However, some directions were found to be difficult to implement and have been modified to simplify the process.

Recent Changes made to advance medical directives, 2018:

Feature	Earlier (2018)	Modified Changes (2023)
Attestation of Advance Directive	Countersigned by a judicial magistrate	Attested before a notary or gazetted officer
Authorization for medical decision making	One guardian or relative named by executor	More than one guardian or relative can be named
Information dissemination	Magistrate informed family members	Executor responsible for informing named guardians or relatives and family physician
Availability in digital form	Not included	Included in digital health records
Secondary Medical Board	Constituted by District Collector	Constituted by hospital with doctor nominated by district’s chief medical officer

About Active and Passive Euthanasia:

Active Euthanasia	Passive Euthanasia
This means that a terminally-ill patient is administered a lethal drug or substance intentionally in order for them to pass away peacefully, in this case, in the event of terminal illness.	Also called negative euthanasia or non-aggressive euthanasia, it was defined by the apex court, as that which “entails withholding of medical treatment for continuance of life, e.g. withholding of antibiotics where without giving it a patient is likely to die”.