Passive Euthanasia: A Right to Die with Dignity and not a Threat to the Sanctity of Life

Passive euthanasia has become one of the most controversial questions of the constitutional law, medical ethics and human rights. The main concern is whether any life-sustaining treatment that is withdrawn to allow a person to die, sacrifices the sanctity of life or, on the other hand, the basic right to live, and die with dignity. According to this article, passive euthanasia does not pose a threat to the sanctity of life but on the contrary, is a continuation of the right to dignity as guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The paper will explore the history of Indian jurisprudence on the right to die starting with the initial judicial interpretations of the right and finally ending with the landmark decisions on the right, including Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug v. Union of India and Common Cause v. Union of India. These rulings have acknowledged passive euthanasia and confirmed the idea of living wills, thus acknowledging the autonomy of people to make end-of-life choices. The paper also makes a difference between passive and active euthanasia with the latter being the process of letting natural death occur as opposed to causing it. From an ethical perspective, the principles of autonomy, beneficence, and dignity support the legality of passive euthanasia. The issues of possible abuse and loss of ethical principles are also raised in the article, with particular focus on the procedural safeguards that have been instituted to prevent such misuse by the courts, such as medical board sanctions and judicial restraint. Comparative analysis of international practices indicates that, the reserved but progressive nature of the Indian is in tandem with the world trends, but still values the sanctity of life to a great extent. Finally, the article concludes that passive euthanasia is indicative of a humane legal system that reconciles the rights of individuals with the values of the society so that dignity is not lost even in the end of life.