‘BEST INTEREST OVER STATE INTEREST’
PATHBREAKING VERDICT Excerpts from the judgment delivered by the fivemember Supreme Court bench that allowed passive euthanasia for terminally ill patients
I may add that the issue is not purely a legal one. It has moral and philosophical overtones. It has even religious overtones.
Life is mortal. It is transitory. It is as fragile as any other object. It is a harsh reality that no human being, or for that matter, no living being, can live forever. Nobody knows how long he/she will be able to live. The gospel truth is that everybody has to die one day, notwithstanding the pious wish of a man to live forever. As Woody Allen said once: “I do not want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.” At the same time, nobody wants to have a tragic end to life. We all want to leave the world in a peaceful manner. In this sense, the term ‘euthanasia’ which has its origin in Greek language signifies ‘an easy and gentle death’.
Euthanasia is one such critical issue where the law relating to it cannot be divorced from morality
This court acknowledges its awareness of the sensitive and emotional nature of euthanasia controversy, and the vigours of opposing views, even within the medical fraternity, and seemingly absolute convictions that the subject inspires. This is so demonstrated above while discussing philosophical, moral, ethical and religious overtones of the subject involved. These valid aspects, coupled with one’s attitude towards life and family and their values, are likely to influence and to colour one’s thinking and conclusions about euthanasia. Notwithstanding the same, these aspects make the case as ‘hard case’. However, at the end of the day, the court is to resolve the issue by constitutional measurements, free of emotion and of predilection
Having regard to the aforesaid right of the patients in common law, coupled with the dignity and privacy rights, it can be said that passive euthanasia, under those circumstances where a patient is in PVS and he is terminally ill, where the condition is irreversible or where he is brain dead, can be permitted. On the aforesaid reasoning.
My last remarks are a pious hope that the legislature would step in at the earliest and enact a comprehensive law on ‘living will/ advance directive’ so that there is a proper statutory regime to govern various aspects and nuances thereof which also take care of the apprehensions that are expressed against euthanasia.