Today, On 10th February, The Supreme Court of India agreed to hear a plea seeking passive euthanasia for terminally ill rabies patients in two weeks. The petition argues that rabies, being almost 100% fatal after symptoms appear, causes extreme suffering with no cure. It seeks legal recognition for withholding life support in such cases under the right to die with dignity.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court announced it would hear a plea in two weeks regarding the right to passive euthanasia for rabies patients.
The case brought before a bench of Justices BR Gavai and K Vinod Chandran by the NGO All Creatures Great and Small, challenging a July 2019 order from the Delhi High Court.
The High Court declined to instruct the Centre and other authorities to classify rabies as an exceptional disease, which would allow patients the option of “death with dignity.”
In January 2020, the Supreme Court requested responses from the Centre and others concerning the 2019 plea. On Monday, the petitioner’s counsel noted that the Centre had submitted a counter affidavit in 2018.
The bench stated,
“We will have it after two weeks on a non-miscellaneous day,”
The NGO’s plea seeks to establish a procedure that would permit rabies patients or their guardians to request physician-assisted passive euthanasia.
Notably, on March 9, 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the right to life encompasses the right to die, legalizing passive euthanasia. This ruling allowed for the creation of a “living will” for terminally ill patients or those in a persistent vegetative state, providing them a dignified exit by refusing medical treatment or life support.
Also Read: Kerela local body to SC: Euthanizing stray dogs is the only solution
Represented by senior advocate Sonia Mathur and advocate Noor Rampal, the NGO requested that an exception be made for rabies patients in light of the Supreme Court’s judgement.
The plea emphasized that rabies has a 100% fatality rate and can be “more torturous and harrowing to succumb to than other forms of ailments.”
It further argued that the “exceptional/violent nature of the disease,” coupled with the absence of a cure, warrants consideration of rabies patients as a distinct category.
The petition highlighted that the unique symptoms of rabies often necessitate that patients be restrained, stripping them of personal freedom, dignity, and integrity.