2. Historical Evolution
Euthanasia is derived from the Greek word meaning
‘good death’
During the time of the ancient Greek and Roman
civilizations, euthanasia or ‘mercy killing’ was
allowed if and only if the person concerned no
longer cared for his own life.
3. Types of Euthanasia
Classification can be of 3 types—
a)Active & Passive
b)Voluntary, Non-voluntary and
Involuntary
c)Assisted & Unassisted
4. Situation in Netherlands
(1st country to legalize euthanasia)
Under the Penal Code, any
form of assistance to a
person in ending his/her
life attracts punishments
However, for public
policy, the courts have
come up with a defence to
the charge of voluntary
Euthanasia.
5. Situation in India
Landmark Case: Aruna
Shanbaug
As of now, only passive
euthanasia is legal. The court
rejected Active Euthanasia.
The court also stated that this
decision would become the law
of the land till the Parliament
enacts an act on Euthanasia.
6. Does Right to Life include Right to
Die in India?
Article 21 of the Indian
Constitution grants its
citizens the Right to
Live but not the Right
to Die.
Inclusion of Right to die
under Article 21 will
contradict the provision
of Indian Penal Code
under sec. 309.
7. Continued….
First time it came for
consideration before
Bombay High Court in
Maruti Shripati Dubal and
struck down section 309 of
Indian Penal Code, as
unconstitutional. The court
said that ‘Right to Life’
includes ‘Right to Die’ if one
so desires
8. Euthanasia in Pakistan
Most of the doctors did not
approve of Euthanasia
Euthanasia is still thought of as a
taboo topic in Pakistan.
Active Euthanasia is not allowed
by the law in Pakistan but Passive
Euthanasia does take place in
Pakistan.
9. Euthanasia in China
Case Of Xia Suwen
Provincial legislature of China has
-suffered from liver problem
rejected calls to legalize euthanasia
-Wang MingCheng-son saying such a move would be
-Dr. Pu Liansheng-doctor unconstitutional for the right of
-it took 5 yrs. to deliver subsistence which is protected by
this judgment their Constitution.
This case shows change in In large cities, especially in Beijing,
attitude of people towards death. many approve of euthanasia.
Chinese people are concerned
about this word and avoid
mentioning death due to the
affection of Confucianism, so
there is scarcely any open
discussion of death.
10. Position in US
Euthanasia is illegal in all states
of the United States.
Physician Assisted Suicide is
legal in the states of
Washington, Oregon and
Montana.
The American Political leader
Robert Ingersoll had, in 1894,
supported ‘assisted suicide’ in
case of persons suffering from
terminal illness.
11. Some other cases
Baxter v Montana
Gonzales v Oregon
Washington v. Glucksberg
Karen Ann case
Terri Schiavo case
Active euthanasia occurs in those instances in which someone takes active means, such as a lethal injection, to bring about someone’s death. Passive euthanasia occurs in those instances in which someone simply refuses to intervene in order to prevent someone’s death. : In Voluntary euthanasia, the patient chooses to be put to death, but in non-voluntary euthanasia, the patient is unable to make a choice at all. By involuntary euthanasia, patient chooses not to be put to death, but is anyway.: Unassisted euthanasia is akin to suicide, whereas in assisted euthanasia, a physician or specialist directs the patient concerned on how to die in the most quick and painless manner
Explain Aruna Shanbaug Case.Other Indian Cases : HB Karibasamma
As according to sec. 309 of the IPC “Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act toward the commission of such offence, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year [or with fine, or with both]”.
But it was finally over ruled by the Five Judge Bench of the Supreme Court in GianKaur v State of Punjab. So finally, there does not exist a right to die in India
, but among those who supported it, consisted mostly of the younger age group.People do not prefer talking about it as it is against Islam.
suffering at the provincial people's political consultative conferenceShe suffered from ascites, cirrhosis of the liverWang MingCheng, one of her sons, asked Dr.PuLiansheng, the physician in charge, to inject some medication to let his mother die without pain.Other children of Xia Suwen sued Dr.Pu for killing their mother, so Dr.Pu and Wang MingCheng were taken into custody on 20 Sept. On 15 March, 1990, nearly four years after the incident, the People's Court of Han Zhong held the court and it was announced that they had committed the offense of intentional homicide.On 17 March, with the expert conclusion from the Malpractice Appraisal Committee of ShaXoi Province, of 10 July, 1989 it was held that "Wintermin compound was not the direct cause of Xia's death, but it did deepen the coma of Xia which promoted deathThe final judgment by the Intermediate People's Court of Han Zhong Prefecture held that both of them are “not guilty”Members of the Guangdong provincial advisory body proposed that terminal cancer patients should be allowed to choose Euthanasia to bring an end to their life.
In 1906, Henry Hunt attempted to legalize euthanasia by introducing legislation in the General Assembly of Ohio. Hunt's bill called for the administration of an anesthetic to bring about a patient's death, so long as the person is of lawful age and sound mind, and was suffering from a fatal injury, an irrecoverable illness or great physical pain. Ultimately, however, this bill failed to pass. Assemblyman George Gregory, too, failed in his proposal to secure the approval of the Iowa legislature in getting an Euthanasia Bill passed.
