The ethics of euthanasia

GS Paper 4

Context: In a recent incident, a Bengaluru woman goes to Delhi HC to stop a friend’s euthanasia trip to Europe.

According to a petition filed before the court, the man has been suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 2014 and is allegedly planning to travel to Switzerland for physician-assisted suicide as the option is not available in India.

Euthanasia:

The term “euthanasia” is derived from Greek, literally meaning “good death”. Taken in its common usage, however, euthanasia refers to the termination of a person’s life, to end their suffering, usually from an incurable or terminal condition. It is for this reason that euthanasia was also coined the name “mercy killing”.

Types of Euthanasia:

Acts of euthanasia are further categorized as “voluntary”, “involuntary” and “non-voluntary.”

• Voluntary euthanasia refers to euthanasia performed at the request of the patient.
• Involuntary euthanasia is the term used to describe the situation where euthanasia is performed when the patient does not request it, with the intent of relieving their suffering – which, in effect, amounts to murder.
• Non-voluntary euthanasia relates to a situation where euthanasia is performed when the patient is incapable of consenting.

Arguments for and against euthanasia

For

• Rights-based argument
  • it is argued that as part of our human rights, there is a right to make our own decisions and a right to a dignified death.
• Beneficence
  • Advocates of euthanasia express the view that the fundamental moral values of society, compassion and mercy, require that no patient be allowed to suffer unbearably, and mercy killing should be permissible.
• The difference between active euthanasia and passive euthanasia
  • Supporters of euthanasia claim that active euthanasia is not morally worse than passive euthanasia – the withdrawal or withholding of medical treatments that result in a patient’s death. In line with this view, it is argued that active euthanasia should be permitted just as passive euthanasia is allowed.

Against

• The sanctity of life
  • Religious proponents argue that “it is the sole prerogative of God to bestow life and to cause death.
• Euthanasia as murder
  • Society views an action which has a primary intention of killing another person as inherently wrong, in spite of the patient’s consent
• Abuse of autonomy and human rights
  • It has also been argued that patients’ requests for euthanasia are rarely autonomous, as most terminally ill patients may not be of a sound or rational mind.
  • Kant and Mill believe that the principle of autonomy forbids the voluntary ending of the conditions necessary for autonomy, which would occur by ending one’s life.
• The role of palliative care
  • It is often argued that pain and suffering experienced by patients can be relieved by administering appropriate palliative care, making euthanasia a futile measure
• The rights of vulnerable patients
  • If euthanasia were to become an accepted practice, it may give rise to situations that undermine the rights of vulnerable patients.
• The doctor-patient relationship and the physician’s role
  • Active voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide undermine the doctor-patient relationship, destroying the trust and confidence built in such a relationship.

Legal Status of Euthanasia

Euthanasia is illegal in most countries (e.g. UK, USA).

India

SC (Gian Kaur v. State of Punjab) it was held by the five judge bench of the Supreme Court that the “right to life” guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution does not include the “right to die”.

• In India, like almost in other countries, euthanasia has no legal aspect.

Distinguishing euthanasia from suicide:  Suicide by its nature is an act of self-killing or self-destruction, an act of terminating one’s own act and without the aid or assistance of any other human agency.

• Mercy killing is nothing but homicide, whatever the circumstances in which it is affected. Unless it is specifically accepted it cannot be an offence.
  • Indian Penal Code further punishes not only abetment of homicide, but also abetment of suicide.