{"id":86002,"date":"2026-09-30T18:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=86002"},"modified":"2026-09-30T18:35:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:05:58","slug":"assisted-dying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-09-2026\/assisted-dying","title":{"rendered":"Assisted Dying"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS4\/ Ethics; GS2\/ Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pope Leo XIV has termed assisted dying &#8220;<strong>false compassion&#8221;<\/strong>, reinforcing the Catholic Church&#8217;s view that life is sacred from <strong>conception to natural death.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Concepts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Passive euthanasia: <\/strong>Withholding or withdrawing life support.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Active euthanasia:<\/strong> Deliberate administration of a lethal agent by a doctor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Assisted suicide:<\/strong> The patient self administers a lethal substance provided by a doctor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments Against&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sanctity of life:<\/strong> Life is a gift and not a personal possession. Ending it undermines human dignity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Compassion redefined:<\/strong> True compassion means accompanying the sick through palliative care, not eliminating the sufferer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vulnerability:<\/strong> Elderly, disabled and poor patients may feel like a burden on family or the health system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Medical ethics<\/strong>: It conflicts with the Hippocratic principle of &#8220;do no harm&#8221; and erodes trust in doctors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments For<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Autonomy: <\/strong>Individuals should decide the manner of their death, especially in irreversible suffering.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dignity: <\/strong>Article 21 covers dignity in living and, by extension, in dying. For ex: the Supreme Court in Common Cause (2018) recognised the right to die with dignity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Relief from suffering:<\/strong> Terminal illness often brings pain that palliation cannot fully control.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Resource use: <\/strong>Prolonged futile treatment burdens families and scarce ICU capacity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India&#8217;s Position<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Aruna Shanbaug (2011)<\/strong>: The Supreme Court permitted passive euthanasia with High Court oversight.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Common Cause v Union of India (2018):<\/strong> Passive euthanasia and advance medical directives (living wills) were legalised.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>2023 modification:<\/strong> Procedures were simplified. Medical boards now decide within set timelines, and living wills need only notary or gazetted officer attestation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Active euthanasia:<\/strong> It remains illegal and can attract culpable homicide provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mental Healthcare Act 2017:<\/strong> It presumes severe stress in suicide attempts and decriminalises them in practice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Palliative care:<\/strong> The National Programme for Palliative Care (2012) exists, but access remains very limited. Kerala&#8217;s community model is the notable exception.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges and Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Weak palliative infrastructure<\/strong>: Choosing death is not a free choice when good care is unavailable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Implementation gaps: <\/strong>Few living wills are executed, and hospitals lack clarity on medical board procedures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Risk of misuse: <\/strong>Property disputes and family pressure can distort consent, especially with low health literacy and high out of pocket health spending.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Determining capacity:<\/strong> Depression can mimic a wish to die, so mental health screening is essential.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ethical pluralism<\/strong>: Religious diversity in India makes a uniform position on end of life care contentious.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Doctor&#8217;s dilemma: <\/strong>Fear of legal liability leads to defensive medicine and either overtreatment or undertreatment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Strengthen palliative care first: <\/strong>Integrate it into Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centres and train doctors and nurses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Clear legislation: <\/strong>A dedicated law on end of life decisions, as recommended by the Law Commission&#8217;s 241st Report (2012) and 196th Report (2006), would end reliance on judicial guidelines alone.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Safeguards: <\/strong>These should include multiple independent medical opinions, psychiatric evaluation, cooling off periods and judicial or board oversight.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Awareness: <\/strong>Promote living wills through digital registries, such as linking them to health records under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ethics committees: <\/strong>Hospitals should set up standing bioethics committees for transparent decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>International learning: <\/strong>Study Belgian and Dutch experience with expansion of eligibility, and Swiss and Oregon models of tight regulation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: HT<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\n<strong> <\/p>\n<p>Context<\/p>\n<p> <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>Pope Leo XIV has termed assisted dying &#8220;false compassion&#8221;, reinforcing the Catholic Church&#8217;s view that life is sacred from conception to natural death.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\n<strong> <\/p>\n<p>Key Concepts<\/p>\n<p><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>Passive euthanasia: Withholding or withdrawing life support.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">\n<p>Active euthanasia: Deliberate administration of a lethal agent by a doctor.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/30-09-2026\/assisted-dying\"   class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86002"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86004,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86002\/revisions\/86004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}