The recent debate over a terminally ill patient’s right to end his/her life through administration of euthanasia has mixed and varied responses. Some claim that legalizing euthanasia would be one form of suicide, which is an offensive act, while others seem to argue that one should be relieved from the pro;onged agony of being on a life support. There are two types of euthanasia, active and passive .Active euthanasia involves the doctor deliberately injecting drug to cause death which is painless, while passive euthanasia refers to withdrawal of life support which keeps the patient alive, who is otherwise in a vegetative state. Thus, the ongoing debate over SC legalizing passive euthanasia has rekindled hopes of putting an end to the years of misery and agony rather than prolonging it further as in Aruna Shaunbaug’s case. However, some people are still against SC’s RULING OF LEGALIZING EUTHANASIA as they believe that there would be misuse of such a provision. It has been made clear that senile people who feel that they are becoming a burden on their family wouldn’t qualify for this provision, so any chances of misuse is highly doubtful.
A person who is in a persistent vegetative state or one who is declared brain dead , and there are no chances of recovery as such, should be granted euthanasia if demanded, otherwise there wouldn’t be any other cruel means of prolonging the suffering of person by forcing him/her to live on moral grounds. In some cases, where the patient’s condition is deterioting and there are absolutely no chances of recovery, then the patient’s family itself turns of the life support system either due to financial constraints or perhaps for the simple reason of ending the suffering. Thus, in such extreme cases where the patient is absolutely dependent on others and cannot do anything on his own, euthanasia should be granted, as there is no joy in simply existing, but the quality of life should also be taken into consideration. If a person desires to die in such extreme circumstances in which he cannot live with the pain anymore, then he should not be robbed of that freedom.If a person has the right to live with dignity , then he/she should also be granted the right to die with dignity.Although, it is a complex issue, but an unbiased decision should be taken in this critical issue.
