‘Legalising Euthanasia’ Cannot be a Sound Verdict

If peace can only come through killing someone, then one must remember that it’s harder to heal than it is to kill. May be the sufferer’s pangs remain so deep to forget, but the gift of life once in a lifetime cannot be snatched away by a mere act of ‘euthanasia’ which is killing someone who is suffering from an incurable disease.

Illegal in many parts of countries in UK, passive euthanasia in the Indian Supreme Court brought an exhibit of cases that has been rolling over since various years. Passive Euthanasia is described as a plea to kill a patient by turning off halting medications, respirators and discontinuing food and water so that the patient is terminated to illness and eventually death. There has been cases including Meghalaya’s Adbul Rahim’s plea for mercy killing his son fighting a blood disease for 16 years; Lakshmamma’s plea for mercy killing of his son who has been in a vegetative state for 15 years.

Recently an NGO named ‘Commo Euthanasia can be legal on three major pillars- a person voluntarily wants death, a person who gives an informed decision and a person suffering unbearably. Moreover, mercy killing would raise a question on medical ethics too. Another crucial thing we can understand here is that within the thick walls of euthanasia, one must see the loopholes of the society- Poverty, Rape, Corruption, etc. The Court needs to apprehend such issues first rather looking into the matter of mercy killing.

Euthanasia must not be permissible in our legal system. It will be here to understand as to under what circumstances the petition is forced to remove the jurisdiction of Hon’ble Court for the sanction of Euthanasia. The Court is already applying its judicial mind in the matter of Euthanasia, but at the same time the prayer which is sought for in the petition, the prayer seems to be unconstitutional prima facian Cause’ has filed a petition for legalising euthanasia. It’s a sheer manslaughtering or criminal homicide. It can no way be justified. A shaded debate occurred among the Supreme Courts, lawyers, intellectuals, etc. ‘Right to Live’ is definitely guaranteed in our Constitution, but ‘Right to Die’ is nowhere guaranteed in the Constitution of India.