- The Supreme Court of India allowed passive euthanasia for Harish Rana, who has been in a vegetative state for 13 years.
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences will oversee the withdrawal of life support under palliative care.
- Doctors will focus on comfort and dignity while avoiding interventions that prolong or hasten de
With the Supreme Court permitting passive euthanasia for a 32-year-old man, Harish Rana, who has been in a persistent vegetative state for the past 13 years, attention has now turned to how doctors will handle the case.
The country's top court passed the landmark judgment on Wednesday, marking it as a “rarest of rare" case, allowing Harish's parents to withdraw medical treatment that is keeping their son alive.
Harish was a BTech student at Panjab University. In Aug. 2013, a fall from the fourth floor of his PG accommodation in Chandigarh resulted in head injuries that has left him in a vegetative state ever since. He has been on feeding and tracheostomy tubes.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, has been assigned the process where Rana will be under care at its palliative care unit. Doctors will have to follow a set of rules that allow a natural end, while prioritising comfort and dignity.
“Palliative care never supports any kind of euthanasia, whether active or passive. What we support is allowing a person to die naturally. We will not prolong death and we will not hasten death,” said Sushma Bhatnagar, the former AIIMS chief and professor of onco-anaesthesia and Palliative Medicine, as reported by The Indian Express.
Procedure to followed by AIIMS
Palliative care and passive euthanasia are two different things. While palliative care means providing supportive care and pain management for individuals with life-threatening illnesses, passive euthanasia will avoid medical interventions that merely prolong life. “They are not going to do anything to hasten his end and will not prolong his end by putting him on unnecessary support,” added Dr Bhatnagar.
Passive euthanasia is about maintaining basic care and comfort, but the aim is a natural death. The doctors will not escalate treatment through intensive interventions when his breathing is difficult, but he will be given supportive care . “If he stops breathing or has laboured breathing, doctors will not put this patient on a ventilator or in the ICU,” says Dr Bhatnagar, while adding, “There will be a lot of nursing care required.”
Also Read: Harish Rana Case: What Does Passive Euthanasia Mean? Is It Legal In India?- Explained
What is passive euthanasia?
The Supreme Court permitted passive euthanasia after Harish Rana's parents approached the court for an end to his suffering as his condition has not improved in over a decade.
Passive euthanasia is the legal and ethical practice of withholding or withdrawing life-support treatment, such as ventilators, feeding tubes or dialysis from a terminally ill patient, allowing them to die naturally and end their suffering.
While India legalised passive euthanasia in 2018, active euthanasia— any act that intentionally helps a person kill themselves—remains illegal.
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