Legality Of Article 35 A

Right to Die Fundamentals of Dignified Death and Ambiguity of Life, Death and Autonomy

- Shourya Jain

Meena Mukherjee, a 70 years old aged woman has a rare medical condition. Since months she is in the hospital, paralyzed. She is immobile like in a coffin, she cannot bear to be touched, she is alert and she feels the deadly pain inside-out.

On 9th March 2018, the Apex Court of India declared Right to Die with Dignity, as a fundamental right and also held Passive Euthanasia, as legal under strict guidelines. First time in History of India, the people will write their living will to safeguard bodily autonomy. It means medical treatment can be withdrawn to ease and hasten a person’s death under strict guidelines. This provision would apply to patients suffering from terminal and deadly illness and who are in a state of vegetativeness. A living will states all the kinds of wishes of a person as to how they should be treated when he is seriously ill. The Supreme Court said that Right to Die with Dignity is intrinsic in Right to Life under Article 21 of Indian Constitution.

The financial burden of a critically ill patient is very hard to bear for a middle class family. In case of Meena Mukherjee, she is totally dependent on her sister and daughter. Reena Nayar (sister) says that, “it is a huge burden”. According to Dr.Raj K Mani, Critical care Speacialist, “the economic impact on the families of terminally ill patients is huge”. They sell their home, lands and properties, by doing this they are not saving their family member but destroying their family and moreover they are letting their concerned one to leave this world in poor and undignified way.