The Hindu : National : Notice to Centre on plea for right to die

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Thursday, May 12, 2005

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National

Notice to Centre on plea for right to die

Legal Correspondent

Issue has evoked a sharp debate across the world: court

"A person whose life was ebbing out should be allowed to die, as the continuance of life with the support system was an unnatural extension of the natural life span"

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre on a public interest litigation petition seeking the right to die with dignity for persons suffering from terminal diseases and likely to go into a permanent vegetative state.

A Bench, consisting of Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice P.P. Naolekar, issued notice on the PIL filed by NGO `Common Cause,' which said that when a medical expert felt that the person afflicted with terminal disease had reached a point of no return, then he/she should be given the right to refuse being put on life support system.

Appearing for petitioner, Prashant Bhushan said that "those at the end of their natural life span and likely to go into a state of terminal illness or permanent vegetative state, are deprived of their right to refuse cruel and unwanted medical treatment, like feeding through hydration tubes, being kept on ventilator and other life supporting machines in order to artificially prolong their natural life span."

Referring to the Shiavo case, the Bench said that even in a highly educated society like the U.S., the issue of right to die had evoked a sharp debate.

It said: "What about a country like that of India where a substantial population was illiterate? Such a right could even lead to misuse. If this type of a right was conferred on a person, who has fallen unconscious due to the terminal disease and if he was rushed to a hospital either by his father or son, should he and the hospital staff be termed as violators of fundamental right conferred on the person."

The petitioner said that the right to be free from unwanted life-sustaining medical treatment was a right protection under Article 21 of the Constitution. It prayed for a declaration that `right to die with dignity' was a fundamental right under Article 21.

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