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| | The Legal Needs Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | [Discussion] Euthanasia | Views: 895 | | Jul 17, 2008 1:56 pm | | [Discussion] Euthanasia | # | 
Vijay Nair | | Here is the text of Euthanasia (Permission and Regulation) Bill, 2007. This is yet to be passed by the Indian Parliament. How do you react to the issue?
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A Bill to provide for compassionate, humane and painless termination of life of individuals who have become completely and permanently invalid and/or bed-ridden due to suffering from incurable disease or any other reason and for matters connected therewith. Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
Statement of Object
Euthanasia is an important but controversial topic of the current age. Though demands are being made to make it legal, fear of misuse is one of the credible arguments put forward by its opponents. Another school of thought considers it unethical and immoral besides being cruel and inhuman. But the moot point is that in case a person is stricken by a disease which gives insufferable pain, agony to the patient rendering him bed-ridden and dependent on others for his smallest needs, he becomes a burden to himself, his family and also to the society. And if the disease is not curable then the matter worsens. There is no hope of recovery for him and the patient is frustrated and depressed. It is in such cases that euthanasia is necessary. It is because the patient has a right to put his pain and agony to an end in a decent and dignified manner as there is no hope of recovery.
Euthanasia gives a way out. It is far better than committing suicide, which is an offence under the present penal provisions and secondly, the patient may not be in a position to commit suicide either. Before making euthanasia legal, sufficient checks and balances at the institutional level itself are necessary to ensure that the system is not misused by unscrupulous elements. The proposed Bill is an effort in that direction. It also takes care that the life of the patient is taken only after due process and in a humane and compassionate manner in the presence of family members and elected representatives.
Hence this Bill.
1. Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Euthanasia (Permission and Regulation) Act, 2007.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(i) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "elected representative" means any member of a Gram Sabha or a Nagar Panchayat or Municipality or State Legislature or Lok Sabha;
(b) "euthanasia" means the bringing about of a gentle, painless and easy death in the case of incurable and painful disease(s) making a person completely and permanently invalid and/or bed-ridden or who cannot carry out his daily chores without constant and regular assistance or who has become completely and permanently invalid due to any other reason; and
(c) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under the Act.
3. Eligibility to file an application.- A person either himself or through any persons duly authorized by him in such manner as may be prescribed, shall have the option to file an application for euthanasia with the Civil Surgeon or the Chief Medical Officer of the District Government Hospital concerned, if he falls under any of the following categories, namely:-
(i) persons who are completely invalid and are permanently bed-ridden due to accident, disease or by birth and have been so declared by a competent medical authority;
(ii) persons who have been suffering from disease(s) declared as incurable by a competent medical authority.
4. Constitution of Medical Board.- On receipt of an application for euthanasia from a person, the Civil Surgeon or the Chief Medical Officer of the District Government Hospital concerned shall place the application before a Medical Board constituted, in the manner to be prescribed, who shall examine the actual condition of the patient.
5. Recommendation for euthanasia.- If the Medical Board, after examining the patient thoroughly, is satisfied that the patient suffers from a disease which is incurable or is mentally/physically invalid and permanently bed-ridden, they shall issue a certificate to the patient recommending his case for euthanasia with the reasons recorded therein for such recommendation.
6. Right to approach the District Judge.- When the case of a patient is recommended by the Medical Board under section 5, the patient may file- an application for euthanasia supported by a certificate issued by the Medical Board in the Court of a District Judge.
7. Permission from District Judge for euthanasia.- On receipt of an application for euthanasia, the District Judge shall take steps to appoint a team of lawyers to investigate and enquire from the patient whether he desires to be relieved from a painful life and if the District Judge, on receipt of report from the team of lawyers so constituted, is satisfied that the patient actually and without any extraneous influence of any kind, desires to have a gentle and painless death, he shall grant the application of the patient and give permission for euthanasia in the prescribed form under his seal and signature.
8. Euthanasia of the patient.- (1) On production of permission from the District Judge, the Civil Surgeon or Chief Medical Officer of the District Government Hospital shall fix a date for euthanasia.
(2) On the date so fixed, steps shall be taken to put the life of the patient to a gentle and painless end in the presence of a member of the family of the patient, a representative of the District Judge and an elected representative.
9. Power to make rules. (1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of the Act.
(2) Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
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Private Reply to Vijay Nair | | Jul 17, 2008 3:49 pm | | re: [Discussion] Euthanasia - a daugher's prospective on a dying father | # | 
Marielena Alvarez | | I had the veterinarian euthanize my pet cat who had cancer. My cat lay in my arms and purred for me one last time and his passing was quick and painless and in the arms of his beloved mistress, yet I could not do the same for my father as he lay dying of Parkinson's Disease.
There is no danger of a terminally ill person becoming addicted to the pain relieving drugs being administered.
It is an easier decision to end the life of a person who is brain dead, to shut off the life sustaining medical devices that keep the body alive, but will never bring them back. Increased organ donation could save and enhance the lives of many if only more would donate the working organs of a brain dead loved one. With nieces who work in organ donation and a best friend who donated her son's organs (enhancing the life of five people), I have come close to this issue. All major religions allow for organ donation but it is often up to the family if no medical directives are in place. Many die before organs become available and know that someone must die in order for them to have a life saving donated organ. Organ donation is possible for liver, kidney and tissue from living donors, but few die in such a way as to have a healthy heart (or other organs) to donate.
Most parents do not wish to be a burden to their children and most children respect their elders and wish to relieve their suffering from cancer or old age. The "Sandwich" generation is caught between caring for their aging parents, who can no longer care for themselves and their own childrens' needs.
Insurance companies put a cap on spending or refuse to pay for some treatments that may save or prolong the quality of life. One can go bankrupt, losing everything, in paying for costly medical treatments, forcing the living to choose between death, expensive medical procedures or homelessness.
In his struggle with Parkinson's Disease, my father started to lose his voice and needed a cane, then a motorized scooter to get around. Eventually he could eat only thickened liquids, he would cough and sputter as he gradually lost the ability to swallow.
My active dad had enjoyed gardening and pruning his fruit trees, but was reduced to being tied to the riding mower (my brother's idea), so he could still enjoy cutting the grass, until he started to lean to far over and had to be removed from the mower. My father had hospice care, mother was able to gave him drops of morphine to ease his pain, by then he had a catheter and was bedridden. So thin and small that I could pick him up, he had been of stocky build and was six inches taller. Daddy got tired of watching TV, but had previously enjoyed watching the movie Pearl Harbor. He was a World War II veteran and had passed through Pearl Harbor just after it was hit, while on active duty in the Coast Guard, the movie had special meaning for him.
On my last visit in November of 2004, I was cracking jokes and he was laughing, so I have the small comfort of leaving him laughing. His brain was active until the end, it was difficult to understand his speech to know what he wanted. He passed a year to the date after his older brother, one month from his 85th birthday in January 2005.
There was more money for them to live on (pension and social security) while he was alive, but was no comfort to my mother as she spent her days caring for him, my brother helping on weekends when he was not working. I was too far away to visit often. How we wished we could help him go to sleep and slip away peacefully. A larger dose of morphine was needed, in Tennessee, that was not legal, but was in Oregon.
Compassionate care for the terminally ill and those who would never choose to live in a vegetative state, makes sense, but just to do away with someone because they are a burden or a drain is a slippery slope so there must be checks and balances in place to prevent it.
My partner and I have decided that if he was brain dead, I would have him kept alive long enough for his daughters to fly to the US from New Zealand to see him one more time if they wished, then let him go (we are both organ donors).
Having a living will, durable medical power of attorney and medical directives in place, regarding the care you do or do not want when you are unable to speak for yourself, is encouraged of anyone having surgery in some hospitals. Having a Do Not Resusitate (DNR) Order on file, removes the decision from the family, who may be too upset to decide. Being an organ donor allows medical personnel do what is necessary, if you are brain dead, so that your organs, can be successfully transplanted to give someone the gift of life.
Some relatives will go to court to keep you from honoring your loved ones' last wishes, regarding life sustaining treatments that will never bring them back or would maintain theme in a vegetative state.Private Reply to Marielena Alvarez | | Jul 19, 2008 8:38 am | | re: re: [Discussion] Euthanasia - a daugher's prospective on a dying father | # | 
Ritu | | Personally I'm all for euthanasia but then something like this
http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3220523,prtpage-1.cms
(Former Euthanasia Petitioner & Activist Now Says "Don't Give Up On Life", as Surgery Brings New Hope)
happens & makes you reflect and think back.Private Reply to Ritu | | Jul 20, 2008 7:27 am | | re: re: re: [Discussion] Euthanasia - a daugher's prospective on a dying father | # |
deepika | | no firm thoughts on the subject ... but a very recent experience to share.
my 22 year cousin (younger than my own son) got detected with blood cancer in its final stages (a chance eye test showed a clot). he was given not more than 6 months ... and he outlived it by two years. he even wrote two annual exams at his engg college!
there were many close calls ... and once we almost lost him. an alternative medical care gave him a fresh lease on life for a few months ... and we all saw a glimmer of hope.
he fought ... as only a guy that age can ... for a life full of dreams. early this year ... he danced at another cousin's wedding as if there was no tomorrow.
a few weeks later ... he condition started deteriorating. the family ... the doctors ... rallied around him. he hung on. but each day ... he kept slipping. his counts kept dropping. nothing seemed to work. he started getting exhausted. his wails ... seared one's heart. there seemed no relief for his pain. valiant spurts notwithstanding ... each day be shrunk a little more. in body and spirit. and then, one day, this summer ... he breathed his last ... as he struggled to hold onto that last breath.
when i saw him ready for his final journey ... lying there, a half smile playing on his lips ... he seemed at peace. no pain. i saw relief on his face. and i felt relief in my heart. i, for one, sent him off smilingly ... the valiant hero ... into god's own garden ... where there would be no pain for him.
yes ... a life ended. i often wonder ... when the end was so certain ... did he have to go through all that pain. and then i think ... a life is still a life. and with life ... there comes hope. you cant simply give up on life!
like i said ... no firm thoughts. but yes ... i did sense a relief seeing young rohit sleeping peacefully ... his pale face devoid of any pain. he looked like a baby all over again ... when he had aged so much while fighting the 'c'.
Private Reply to deepika | | Jul 22, 2008 5:34 pm | | re: re: re: re: [Discussion] Euthanasia - a daugher's prospective on a dying father | # |
Marielena Alvarez | | Pain relief for the terminal patient must be provided
The decision must be made by the person having the experience, not family/friends. A good reason to make your wishes known in a legal document, when you can no longer speak for yourself.
Some choose to fight, that is their right, but endless painful suffering must be relieved with proper pain medication and pain management. The terminally ill will never get addicted but should be helped to relieve suffering. Sometimes the patient can take an overdose themselves and if the medication is not relieving the pain, give them something that will (even if it is an illegal substance).Private Reply to Marielena Alvarez | | Jul 28, 2008 5:42 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: [Discussion] Euthanasia - a daugher's prospective on a dying father | # |
Ritu | | Incidentally Oregon & Netherlands are the only two jurisdictions in the world where Laws specifically permit Euthanasia. Switzerland, Belgium & Luxemborg permit Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) but not Euthanasia.
Euthanasia is the active, intentional termination of a patient’s life by a doctor who thinks that death is of benefit to the patient.
whereas
Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) – is where a doctor helps the patient to take his or her own life.
& even euthanasia has several variants:
~Voluntary euthanasia is euthanasia at the request (or at least with the consent) of the patient.
~Involuntary euthanasia is euthanasia carried out against the wishes of a competent person.
~Non-voluntary euthanasia is euthanasia carried out on incompetent patients such as babies or patients with dementia.
~Active euthanasia is the intentional taking of a patient’s life by a doctor who thinks that death is of benefit to the patient.
~Passive euthanasia is the intentional termination of a patient’s life by omission, for example by withdrawing treatment.
In India what will be allowed, PAS or euthanasia?? Why are these the two procedures distinguished & treated differently in Switzerland, Belgium & Luxemborg, when the result they seek to achieve is practically the same??
Private Reply to Ritu | | Jul 29, 2008 3:32 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: [Discussion] Euthanasia - a daugher's prospective on a dying father | # |
Vijay Nair | | I guess that the essential difference between Euthanasia and PAS is that - In Euthanasia, it is mercy killing....of someone who is in a medical situation where on the one hand death is imminent and pain is unbearable. In PAS, the person is wanting to end his/her life irrespective of the medical situation - happens for people who think they have lived all that life has to offer. In olden days, sadhus (sages) used to take samadhi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam%C4%81dhi). Isnt that akin to suicide or self-induced death ? Private Reply to Vijay Nair | | Jul 30, 2008 6:22 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: [Discussion] Euthanasia | # |
Ritu | | Apparently I got my facts wrong about Oregon...Oregon allows only PAS & not Euthanasia...so that makes Netherlands the only country that allows Euthanasia...& Belgium does not distinguish between euthanasia & PAS & Switzerland is the only country which allows PAS for foreigners too (of course terms & conditions apply).
Vijay, Samadhi like practice exists even today among the jains & it is called santhara or sallekhana, which means fasting unto death...whether this is euthanasia/suicide & hence punishable in India has come up for consideration before the courts on several occassions though I'm not aware of any final verdict on this matter...maybe courts tread with caution here cos this involves religious beliefs of certain people.
What you say makes sense in that PAS is self induced suicide by person without medical situation cos apparently only he can commit suicide with or without assistance & a person with fatal medical problems can't be assisted but has to 'euthanasised'....but then why would more countries permit death of apparently healthy person (by PAS) rather than a fatally sick person (by Euthanasia)...perhaps due to the voluntary (PAS) vs involuntary (euthansia) angle that the respective situations involve??Private Reply to Ritu | | |
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