Abstract / Summary
Active euthanasia occurs when another person, usually a physician, deliberately administers an intervention with the specific intention of causing the patient's death.The intervention, usually a lethal medication, is the immediate cause of death.Physician-assisted dying is different.Depending on the terminology used in a particular jurisdiction, a physician prescribes or provides lethal medication, but the competent patient performs the final act of administration.Passive euthanasia, as used in Indian constitutional jurisprudence, refers to withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining medical treatment.A ventilator may not be initiated, vasopressors may be discontinued, dialysis may not be escalated, or artificial nutrition and hydration may be withdrawn when these interventions no longer confer therapeutic benefit.The physician does not introduce a new lethal agent.Treatment that artificially prolongs biological existence is stopped, and death results from the underlying irreversible disease or injury.The Supreme Court of India has cautioned against relying only on an "act versus omission" distinction.Disconnecting a ventilator or removing a feeding tube requires a physical act.The more meaningful questions concern intention, causation, and the source of death.Withdrawing non-beneficial treatment removes an artificial intervention and allows the underlying condition to take its natural course.2 The preferred clinical term is therefore withholding or withdrawal http://jtarcc.com/