Primary responsibility of states: Govt on implementing passive euthanasia in healthcare system

New Delhi: Health being a state subject, it is the primary responsibility of the states and Union territories to implement passive euthanasia and living wills in the healthcare system by incorporating these into hospital protocols to ensure that medical professionals are trained to respect patients' end-of-life preferences, the government told Parliament on Tuesday.

In a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said it is also the responsibility of the states to establish ethical safeguards, such as a mandatory review by a medical board in accordance with a Supreme Court judgment.

Nadda's response came with respect to a question on the specific measures taken to implement and promote passive euthanasia and living wills in the healthcare system in light of the 2018 judgment of the apex court.

He said in the judgment in Common Cause Vs Union of India, the Supreme Court laid down specific guidelines for executing advance directives and implementing passive euthanasia.

The court, in Miscellaneous Application No. 1699 of 2019 in Common Cause Vs Union of India, relaxed these guidelines by simplifying the procedure for executing the same.

These modifications aimed at making the process more accessible for terminally-ill patients to exercise their right to die with dignity by refusing life-prolonging treatment, the minister said.

"Health" being a state subject, it is the primary responsibility of the states and Union territories to implement passive euthanasia and living wills in the healthcare system by incorporating these into hospital protocols to ensure that medical professionals are trained to respect patients' end-of-life preferences," Nadda said in his written response.