Euthanasia in India

The law on Euthanasia in India distinguishes between active and passive euthanasia.

Forms of active euthanasia, including the administration of lethal compounds, are still illegal in India.[1][2]

Passive euthanasia (more commonly known as withholding and/or withdrawal of life support) has been legal in India in a limited set of circumstances since the Supreme Court's judgments in Aruna Shanbaug (2011), Common Cause (2018), and an order modifying the guidelines issued in Common Cause (2023).

Patients must consent through a living will, and must be either terminally ill or in a vegetative state.[3] The procedural guidelines were streamlined and relaxed by the Supreme Court in January 2023.[4]

  1. ^ "India's Supreme Court lays out euthanasia guidelines". LA Times. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  2. ^ "Euthanasia: Widely debated, rarely approved". The Times of India. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  3. ^ [1] [dead link]
  4. ^ "Streamlining the Process for Passive Euthanasia: Judgement Summary". Supreme Court Observer. Retrieved 29 September 2023.